Friday, December 31, 2010
Happy New Year!!
To any/all who might come across this blog, I would hope that 2010 was a great year, and that the 2011 brings something even better. Happy New Year!!
Someday...justice
It is my hope that someday, perhaps not soon, but someday those who have killed in the name of profit, like Massey and CONSOL, will be brought to justice. They are and have always been willing to see others die so as to benefit their bottom line.
Just a couple of things to keep in mind whenever they begin their spin. Every time they open their mouths, they are lying. Longwall mining kills. Everyone knows it. And, it doesn't just kill the miners who are directly involved. No, it kills things that are above ground too. People? Yes. Animals? Yes.
How? Well lets just look at a couple of things. Mercury is a poisonous byproduct, sequestered in coal. When it is mined, it breaks free and enters the surrounding area and travels outward very likely at some point into our water. The coal is then burned at a utility plant where it is released into the atmosphere and carried to who/whatever is downwind. The ash left over from the process is then stored as a slurry behind earthen dams. And of course, there is mercury still to be found there. How about arsenic? Same flow as above.
First the mining companies will say that they provide jobs. They do. But, that number has dropped significantly since early in the last century with the advent of bigger shovels and longwall mining.
Next they might drop in the US need for coal. But with that one, we already know that most of the coal brought up by the use of longwall mining goes to China and India.
So, why exactly do they need to bring death and destruction to bear from Pennsylvania to Montana? Profits, of course. The deaths of those who do the work? Their view is that deaths are just a natural part of the mining business. Its dangerous business. People have always died.
Sound good to you? Me neither. So, back to the beginning. Someday, maybe not soon, but someday perhaps those who would kill for profit will be brought to justice.
Just a couple of things to keep in mind whenever they begin their spin. Every time they open their mouths, they are lying. Longwall mining kills. Everyone knows it. And, it doesn't just kill the miners who are directly involved. No, it kills things that are above ground too. People? Yes. Animals? Yes.
How? Well lets just look at a couple of things. Mercury is a poisonous byproduct, sequestered in coal. When it is mined, it breaks free and enters the surrounding area and travels outward very likely at some point into our water. The coal is then burned at a utility plant where it is released into the atmosphere and carried to who/whatever is downwind. The ash left over from the process is then stored as a slurry behind earthen dams. And of course, there is mercury still to be found there. How about arsenic? Same flow as above.
First the mining companies will say that they provide jobs. They do. But, that number has dropped significantly since early in the last century with the advent of bigger shovels and longwall mining.
Next they might drop in the US need for coal. But with that one, we already know that most of the coal brought up by the use of longwall mining goes to China and India.
So, why exactly do they need to bring death and destruction to bear from Pennsylvania to Montana? Profits, of course. The deaths of those who do the work? Their view is that deaths are just a natural part of the mining business. Its dangerous business. People have always died.
Sound good to you? Me neither. So, back to the beginning. Someday, maybe not soon, but someday perhaps those who would kill for profit will be brought to justice.
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Happy (?) Holidays
Don't for a minute think this will make one bit of difference. However, it is my fervent hope that the faithful, regardless of what that means, will take the day off and refrain from killing others in the name of their Higher Power. Happy Whatever!
Thanks
Thanks
Sunday, December 19, 2010
DADT...dead
It has been a very long trek, filled with all of the acrimony that fills any human rights battle. But, at long last, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" has been put behind us. The program that forced so many to lie just to serve their country is now a thing of the past. Or, will be once signed by President Obama.
Gay people have always served. And, although I can't prove it, it is my guess that it has always been so. Certainly it has been so for a long time in many of the armed forces of our friends and allies.
So, why would it be the case that in the "...land of the free..." that it has taken so long for this odious kind of hate to be irradicated? Again, I don't know the answer. But, what I do know is that there has been a bad case of racism, bigotry, and the other kinds of hate running in this country since the beginning. Any doubts can be taken to any tribal council of any Native American tribe in the US.
What is more important here, for me, is the tribute to be payed to those who sacrificed so much for this cause. Specifically, and he will stand in for all, is Lt. Dan Choi. He became the face of the movement.
For the most part of a decade he has fought just to be able to serve his country in the job he had chosen. That job, serving in the US Army. Being unwilling to carry on the charade surrounding his sexual orientation, he was discharged under DADT.
Last week, after all the years of being the face of the movement, under stress that few can imagine, the young man fell ill. At the moment that all of his suffering would be wiped away, he was hospitalized.
When the POTUS signs the death warrant for DADT, I am hopeful that those who have a large audience in the press, will write about Dan Choi. As the young man who wanted to do nothing but serve his country certainly. But, also as the hero and champion he was during the last years of this fight. And, will remain to many of us who stood against DADT.
DADT...dead.
Gay people have always served. And, although I can't prove it, it is my guess that it has always been so. Certainly it has been so for a long time in many of the armed forces of our friends and allies.
So, why would it be the case that in the "...land of the free..." that it has taken so long for this odious kind of hate to be irradicated? Again, I don't know the answer. But, what I do know is that there has been a bad case of racism, bigotry, and the other kinds of hate running in this country since the beginning. Any doubts can be taken to any tribal council of any Native American tribe in the US.
What is more important here, for me, is the tribute to be payed to those who sacrificed so much for this cause. Specifically, and he will stand in for all, is Lt. Dan Choi. He became the face of the movement.
For the most part of a decade he has fought just to be able to serve his country in the job he had chosen. That job, serving in the US Army. Being unwilling to carry on the charade surrounding his sexual orientation, he was discharged under DADT.
Last week, after all the years of being the face of the movement, under stress that few can imagine, the young man fell ill. At the moment that all of his suffering would be wiped away, he was hospitalized.
When the POTUS signs the death warrant for DADT, I am hopeful that those who have a large audience in the press, will write about Dan Choi. As the young man who wanted to do nothing but serve his country certainly. But, also as the hero and champion he was during the last years of this fight. And, will remain to many of us who stood against DADT.
DADT...dead.
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