Nuclear Plant Operators, A Timely Reminder: Earthquakes Happen

A Colorado quake shook the Richter Scale above 5
today, and just a few hours later, another quake
tipped too close to 6 on the East Coast. No reports
of fatalities so far, thankfully. These events were
scarcely expected, especially along the Eastern Seaboard;
monuments in DC were affected, the full extent yet to be
determined.

Two Nuclear Plants in Virginia were shut down; no
radiation escaped the plant, we're told. But depending
on random luck, which IS what we're doing, operating
many aging plants, is courting disaster. Any reactors
along either coasts is subject to a Fukushima-type quake
and tsunami scenario. Even without a tsunami, a quake could
disrupt the coolant water supply, leading to a meltdown.

Here's hoping saner minds prevail among the powerful,
deciding to scale back this technology, eventually
shuttering it in the U.S. for good.

The Constitution: Corrections Long Overdue

Our Constitution, much lauded and copied
worldwide, nevertheless is far from perfect.
I can think of several of its stipulations
which should land in the dustbin of history:

(1) In Article One, the granting of marque
and reprisal, essentially permitting piracy,
we need this why?

(2) Wherever African Americans are referred to
in there as "3/5ths of all other persons..."
well, THAT'S got to go. Subsequent amendments
following Emancipation and the Civil War do not
specifically redress/address this arrogantly inhuman,
inaccurate language. The 14th Amendment does change
the basis for electing members of the House, without,
however, apologizing to Native or African Americans.

(3) The Second Amendment should be further clarified,
as the part regarding "a well-regulated militia" seems
to have entirely skipped over too many people's feeble
understanding. AK47s and their ilk should be completely
outlawed except for wartime use, and only licensed 22s
and 38s allowed WITHIN THE HOME for protection. Hunting,
already regulated, may not require much modification.

The Founders themselves publicly admitted they were only
human, recognized the future would necessitate/create
changes to our founding document. Addressing these three
items here would go a long way to elevate, and humanize,
an America now rushing to a deplorable bottom.

Such corrections, logical and humane, are long overdue.

Time for TIFs to go

Since they've become little more than sources
of municipal corruption which deprive schools and
other vital entities of needed funds, TIFs should
be outlawed at the federal level. The original helpful
notion, promulgated by Rep. Jack Kemp, has morphed into a
grotesque way to keep tax monies from the public good
but easily available to the politicians. Since when is
Chicago's LaSalle Street, with its Federal Reserve Bank,
etc., a "blighted area"?? (Yeah, blighted by large numbers
of the uncaring rich, maybe.) When former Mayor Daley
crated the LaSalle Street TIF, the proof was in that the
fix was in. No other information necessary to the point.
According to The Reader's Ben Joravsky, Chicago has 160 of
these, relatively few in truly economically depressed areas.

But it gets worse: TIF funds, which were originally intended
to boost economic development in poor neighborhoods, are now
subsidizing large corporations blackmailing the city, the CME
being one. "We'll leave the city unless you fork over millions..."

So LEAVE, already. The fewer thieves left in Chicago, the better.

TIFs: initially an innovative idea perverted by the greedy, now
deserve the ax. --And soon!

Let's Do It: Vote Out all the Incumbents

Hi ho there, congressmen! I foolishly expected
you to do your job....wow, was I ever disappointed.
But I DO have a strategy, which I will advertise
widely--vote out all the incumbents in 2012.

It's simple: why reward incompetence? The only
thing these nincompoops understand is a threat
to their power and position, simple enough to carry
out by voting in ANYBODY else.

After all, how could anybody else do a worse job?

Time to Execute, Mr. Executive

Yep, leadership is required--from the President.
If Congress can't get it together to raise the
debt ceiling, which should be a stand-alone
proposition, shorn of tax and spend considerations,
then HE should avail himself of the mechanism which
allows him to do so. What's he waiting for, Christmas?
If so, most of those serving in Congress and the White
House will be gone in 2012. Nothing like starvation
and other serious economic loss to galvanize the
population into political retribution.

Mr. Obama, haven't you heard of the saying,"just do it"?
Well, damn it, just DO IT. Save us from the double-dip,
from endangering the entire world economy. etc., etc.

With a stroke of your pen, just do it.

Politicians, Beware: 2012 Waits for You

The August 2nd debt ceiling deadline debacle rockets
ever closer. Solve it NOW, or see your legislative
careers end abruptly. Who will vote you back in office
if such a negative historic marker occurs, all just
because of politics? There IS enough money in this nation
to pay our damn outstanding debt, count on it. Why
should the super-rich remain untouched while everyone else
suffers? They're simply holding on to their kale, not
hiring, which would be the ONLY reason not to dun them
as they deserve. They made their fortunes here, let their
taxes reflect that. If this is the greatest country in the
world, let them contribute to it, not merely themselves.

If there IS waste, fraud and abuse, let that be exposed
and expunged, along with the massive incompetence which
ruins us by the hour. Both prongs of attack, raising revenues
and cutting any improvident spending, would resolve the debt
mess fairly quickly. But:

Lingering too long on extremist, ideologue positions while the
calendar marches on to August WILL have consequences.

To you.

Declare Your Independence from Ignorance

Shocking news: 24% of adult Americans are unsure
as to exactly when, and from whom, we declared our
independence. Recent polls describe the country's
woeful ignorance, a continuing embarrassment.
--The greatest country in the world? Maybe, maybe
not, but possibly the most ignorant. Santayana said
those ignorant of history are doomed to repeat it,
a caution it's wise to remember. While there's little
danger of Great Britain reasserting its authority
over the U.S., other dangers loom, most fueled by
careless attention to relevant facts.

Truth, Justice, the American Way, isn't that what
we're celebrating this Fourth of July? It's time,
however, for a new declaration: Independence from
Ignorance.

Let's do it today, there's not a moment to lose.