Indian see white man about to shoot self in foot. Indian say NO...
Common sense - more important than greed._________________________featuring: reality, Faux "News" kryptonite
I've got some really good news. Its starting to look like some of those experimental medical procedures are starting to pan out.
1. Cancer: Nanotechnology has brought with it the ability to kill cancer without harming surrounding tissue. Proteins can be attached to gold nanospheres which can be injected into the body. The proteins chosen will only attach themselves to cancerous cells. Infra-red light can then be used non-invasively to cook the cancer cells, without harming healthy tissue. Someday, cancer treatment could be little more than an office visit to the doctor. 2. HIV: Recently, a bone marrow transplant has effectively cured an AIDS patient. The bole marrow donor had a genetic mutation that was “resistant” to HIV. This finding could inspire scientists to pursue gene therapy to suppress or even cure HIV. 3. Heart Disease: Gene therapy has shown promising results for advanced heart failure. 4. Organ Replacement: Stem cell therapy has shown promising results in regrowing tissue in the eye, the windpipe, the bladder, the skin, the immune system, the brain, the face, the heart, the pancreas, the ovaries, the testes, and the muscles. 5. Aging: An immune system drug based upon a Chinese herb has possible applications in slowing the aging process.
Wow! The probability that many of us today may live much longer, healthier lives is becoming ever more likely.
However, so is the likelihood that we will destroy our habitat on this planet.
Imagine a future where people live for hundreds of years in a overheated, polluted cesspool of a planet. Doesn't that sound a lot like the biblical description of Hell – living forever in a miserable place? This may be our future.
You may think you only have another 30 years or so to live. But that might not be true. What if you're going to live another 130 years? What do you want your future to be like?
Americans have finally gotten off our tails and made a difference – by coming together to vote for change. This gives me hope.
It's starting to look more and more like America will be generating our future power from sustainable sources.
Our government might start to respect our constitution again.
And maybe, just maybe, we can start to fix the rampant corruption so entrenched within our systems.
However, many of us don't have a clue what the magnitude of the problems really are. Moreover, a significant portion of those in power are making way too much money to consider the true costs of their actions. For these people, I suggest you see these three videos; Sicko, Why We Fight, and the Corporation. Seen together, these films give us a better overall understanding of how bad things have become... Really, really bad.
Which in a way, also gives me hope. Now we're paying attention. If enough people see all three of these films, we might start to think of ways to fix our government, control the criminal element within the corporate world, and even work around the intractable flaws in our systems. Together, we can overpower the antiquated, corrupt ways of doing things.
Creative and well informed people are often the most frightening to the powers that be – we represent change. Of course, we do need conservatives to reign us in once and a while. But as long as the change makes sense, try it. The consequences of making the same old mistakes are mounting – to the breaking point. We really need to fix things. And together, working in new ways, I believe we can make our world a better place overall.
I wouldn't be here, trying as hard as I do; if I were not fully convinced this change is better for all of us. That's right – all of us. There is even irrefutable evidence (on the video Sicko). Just consider mortality rates of Americans vs many European nations. Americans die younger, even the rich. We can do better.
Last week I wrote a letter to the Ely Times on how the Air Force intends to turn Steptoe Valley into a supersonic war game area – and set our mountain ranges on fire with their errant dogfight flares. In spite of the obvious ramifications, I was really surprised by the number of online comments for the airspace grab. WTF?... This is far more complex than one of the comments about “kick(ing) some terrorist butt.” (Terrorists don't have jets to get into dogfights.) Actually, this is more about money than it is security. But this is really about freedom. There are people who have convinced us that high taxes for military spending will bring us freedom... that's right, high taxes bring us “freedom.” (That makes about as much sense as gutting the Bill of Rights in the name of “freedom.”)
First, I want to make it very clear that I realize that our country needs military defense. And of course, our military pilots need to train. But haven't they already been doing that for decades?
American fighter pilots are already well prepared. F-15s have a combat record of 101 victories and zero loses in actual air to air combat. The F-16 has a combat record of 71 victories and zero losses in actual air to air combat. We don't need an expert opinion. Our fighter pilots have done an extraordinary job. And part of that is because these days, pilots avoid a dogfights by just launching a missile or two.
Moreover, in the past 20 years, there just haven't been that many aerial conflicts. US fighters shot down 5 Iraqi jets in 1991. And in 1999, 5 enemy jets were shot down over Kosovo. That's it. Which leads us to the question: Why? Why do they want more?
The answer is obvious – because there is REALLY BIG money in it.
The F-22 fighter plane cost over $300 million dollars each! The total program cost for all of the F-22s has been $62 billion! And the CEO for Lockheed Martin (builder of the F-22) received $37 million – just in 2007! (Hey, the CEO of General Dynamics received $60 million!) For 2007, the average CEO compensation among aerospace and defense companies was $20.6 million – 60% more than the average fortune 500 CEO!
With that kind of carrot, is it any wonder that the military/industrial/congressional complex always wants more?
I used to work for a military contractor. I have a sense of how they think. Sure, they want to defend America – but let's face it, they're in it for the money. And they'll tax us into the poorhouse if we let them... actually, they already have.
My point is simple; we can find the money to help people amongst the money that is wasted on what we spend to kill people.
The money to be spent on these additional dogfight exercises is just wasted money that could be better spent on humanitarian needs. If you agree with me, please write to our Senators and Representatives.
The lame duck Bush Administration is working overtime fast-tracking last minute favors to their buddies in big business and the military/industrial complex. There is even an airspace grab going on in Eastern Nevada.
The proposed expansion of military operations area into Nevada (White Elk Military Operations) is unacceptable. It will profoundly effect those of us who live here; physically, economically, environmentally, and spiritually.
With some of our airspace gone, we probably won't see nearly as many gliders in the future.
Our property values will decline due to jet noise and sonic booms.
Our natural spaces will be degraded.
This will be one more reason not to visit White Pine County.
This will be one more reason not to move to White Pine County.
Peak noise levels (from sonic booms) will likely harm our hearing.
Increased anxiety from loud noise has been shown to result in health problems, such as heart disease.
Property damage has occurred in the past near sonic booms.
Wildlife and livestock will be disturbed significantly.
Flares and chaff will be littered over wilderness and public lands. Flares pose increased fire risk. And over wilderness areas, there doesn't appear to be any fire suppression plans.
Chaff pose health risks if inhaled or ingested.
Degradation of my Native (Western Shoshone) homeland will harm us spiritually. This is far more significant than a sonic boom going off during a ritual. This is the desecration of the place that sustains us.
And of course, our tax money will be wasted on excessive, unnecessary training for cold war era threats. More supersonic flight training will not protect us from terrorists.
Apparently, there was a public hearing in Ely on this on September 2. But nobody I know heard about it. Was it publicized? I've heard about unpopular “public” hearings that the military has conducted without any practical announcements. Either way, we need more time to make our comments. It isn't right that residents here will find out about this after the public comment period is over.
Thank you,
Richard A. Spilsbury
I've been informed that the White Elk Operations Area Draft Environmental Impact Statement attempts to veil damaging health impacts from earth shattering sonic booms by providing ONLY noise level averages while ignoring peak sonic boom noise levels.
As you can see by the blank areas on the map, they will let wilderness areas burn! We saw the BLM watch a fire in wilderness area burn on for months last summer. Flares over wilderness areas are a recipe for multiple fire disasters.
Please write your Senators and Representatives about this.
For a Obama to win the presidential election, he has to beat the “fraud factor.” In case you haven't been paying attention for the past 8 years, there has been rampant election fraud in some states. And it's obvious who has benefited – the Republicans.
Gore received 150,000 more votes nationwide than Bush in 2000. But winning the popular election wasn't enough.
Exit polls in Ohio showed that Kerry had won in 2004. Yet, somehow Bush won this critical state.
In the election of 2008; for our vote to count, we have to expect that many of our votes won't count. In other words; VOTE, dammit!
The only way to assure a legitimate Democratic win in this election is for it to be an overwhelming landslide. Get out and VOTE!
If this is close, the GOP will likely challenge the results. And we all know what could happen if the election gets decided by the Supreme Court (again)...
You think that won't happen? Well, consider ACORN. This is an organization which has been getting poor people to vote. They've done an excellent job of registering voters. But that's probably not how you heard about them. You've probably heard about some individuals who filed false registrations to get a few bucks more in pay. Here's the real story of ACORN:
What we are talking about here is a few extra people registered – who won't vote, because they don't even know they're registered. Think about it. If the same person kept coming back to vote, sooner or later he would get caught. For this to work, the conspiracy would have to be enormous. And obviously, huge conspiracies can't be kept secret. The whole concept of rigging elections like this is totally impractical.
On the other hand, one person in the right position, can disenfranchise tens of thousands of voters – often without them even knowing it. We have evidence of caging lists. We have records. And some of these corrupt officials are up to it again.
“In Mississippi before the March 2008 primary, a county election official — from her home computer — secretly deleted 10,000 voters from the rolls.”
Some states have voting machines with no paper trail (thanks to Republicans). It has been shown that not only are these machines easy to hack, they don't function reliably.
“Early voting has begun, and problems are already emerging at the polls. In West Virginia, voters using touchscreen machines have claimed their votes were switched from Democrat to Republican. In North Carolina, a group of McCain supporters heckled a group of mostly black supporters of Barack Obama. In Ohio, Republicans are being accused of trying to scare newly registered voters by filing lawsuits that question their eligibility.”
“In Alabama, scores of voters are being labeled as convicted felons on the basis of incorrect lists. Tens of thousands of voters could be affected in Wisconsin.”
“The New York Times has also reported that boards of elections in Nevada, North Carolina, Michigan, Indiana and Ohio have illegally used federal Social Security databases to flag and possibly eliminate voters whose registration applications were suspected of irregularities. The Times reported some 37,000 Colorado voters removed in the three weeks after July 21; Secretary Coffman said the number was 14,000.”
“Thirty-nine states and the District of Columbia reported purging more than 13 million voters from registration rolls between 2004 and 2006.”
But all is not lost. Obama could still win. But only if he wins by a landslide – which is likely to happen. In fact, not only is it likely that Obama will win the election, it is also possible the Senate Democrats could achieve the “magic 60” - a filibuster proof majority. This is very important, because for the past two years, Republicans have utilized the filibuster at an unprecedented rate to keep bills from passing. This is the cause of the “do nothing Congress.”
With Obama as president and a magic 60 in the Senate, Democrats will have an opportunity to make progressive changes at a critical time in history. We could actually fix things. Whether that will actually happen or the Democrats just sell out to remains to be seen. But I have hope.
Its that time again. Time to pick someone to determine our future for us. (Yes, it's that important.)
So, how are you going to decide?
Will you let the negative ads on TV effect your decision? Be honest. Most of us will. That's why candidates spend so much money on negative TV ads.
Often, negative information effects us more than positive. That isn't so bad, except when the negative information is simply lies. Carl Rove learned that lies can be more effective than the truth. His manipulations of the press, government, and the American people led to his ouster from the Bush administration. But lies sell – and he's back. However, this time, he has a thousand clones.
One of the most effective lies the Rove clones have used is to accuse their opponents of their own digressions. For example; big oil cronies calling environmentalists “eco-fascists.” (Obviously, the U.S. didn't invade and occupy Iraq for environmental reasons.) The accusation is used to counter the truth – before the truth is well known.
In the election here in Nevada, we're seeing plenty of these unscrupulous tactics. There is a very close race for a House seat between incumbent Dean Heller and challenger Jill Derby.
I've met Jill Derby. Wow! I don't think I've met a more perfect candidate. Her credentials are amazing. Her opinions are well thought out. And she listened to us. Moreover, she hasn't taken money from the oil companies. (The Dean Heller campaign has taken $40,000 from Exxon, Mobil, Occidental Petroleum, Chevron, and the Wildcatters Fund.)
So, with the perfect candidate running against him, what options does Dean Heller have? His team has to make stuff up.
The Dean Heller campaign has called Jill Derby a “big spender.” Jill Derby spent $100,000 in travel expenses, over 18 years, while volunteering for the Nevada Board of Regents. However, over only 12 years as Nevada Secretary of State, Dean Heller spent nearly $500,000 in travel expenses.
Let's also consider campaign debt. Back in August, Dean Heller had the fifth most debt of any sitting congressman. Currently, he has $321,000 in debt. In contrast, Jill Derby has only $2,000 in debt and $245,000 in cash on hand.
So, who's the conservative and who's the big spender?
Things are not always as they seem (on the attack ads.)
Has the fossil fuel industry consistently schemed to rev up profits?
Are you a slave to a system manipulated to keep power generation centralized?
Are Native Americans still being treated like Indians?
Are America's ideals destined to be roadkill?
I have a confession. George W. Bush and I have something in common. We both love to ride mountain bikes. There's nothing like getting outdoors for a good ride in the fresh air and natural surroundings. It only makes sense for mountain bikers to be environmentalists. But, “President” George W. Bush is about as far from an environmentalist as anyone can get.
For instance, his appointed bureaucrats are poised to trash Moab, Utah – one of the best places to mountain bike in the country.
The Bush BLM is fast-tracking six “resource management plans” for the Moab area. The BLM wants to officially designate over 17,000 miles of dirt routes in the wild areas in Southern Utah near Moab. They also want to open 80% of 11 million acres for oil and gas drilling – by December (just before Bush leaves office). A mountain biker wouldn't do that. Is Bush being blackmailed? Who really runs this Country?
Follow the money...
When you initially consider the two things the BLM intends to promote (off road vehicles and oil exploration), they seem unrelated. But remember, Bush Jr. has a lot of oil men buddies/backers. When you look at the two from an oil man's perspective, they aren't so unrelated after all. These are both ways to maximize oil profits. Here is an opportunity to get as much cheap oil as possible, and an opportunity to get people to use as much oil as possible. The oil companies must see this as a good thing. And an awful lot of people too lazy to walk (and likely too lazy to think) have been tricked into believing this is about freedom. No, this is about corporate anarchy.
I'll tell you what a good thing is...
Better yet, I'll show you.
A good thing is when we don't have to toil to make these fossil fuel companies even richer – while we poison ourselves just to get around.
There are people who have already escaped the oil addiction cycle. It can be done.
When you combine renewable power generated locally with that shared on long distance power lines and that stored in battery powered vehicles, renewable power becomes far more reliable. Renewable power can be shared – like music on the internet.
Which means that power can be reliably generated at home – and doesn't have to be minded or drilled. That's what the fossil fuel industry doesn't want us to know. That's the technology the fossil fuel industry hopes to marginalize. What else can you expect the fossil fuel industry to do? Change? Not without a fight. The profits are too obscene. Even if they know that global warming is destroying the balance of our environment, their system is geared to keep the cash coming in. Expect them to fight dirty. Expect them to lie. Expect them to pay off politicians. Expect them to buy patents, or even buy off companies; and shut down competing industries. Nothing is below elements within the fossil fuel industry.
Maybe that's why oil men like Bush Jr. don't seem to care about Moab. Maybe they believe the end of the world is coming anyway. Maybe they believe that God will see them destroying things here and will (senselessly) invite them into heaven to destroy things there too? MAYBE NOT! Then again, maybe the oil men just figure they'll be dead by the time the bills come due, and don't care about the rest of us.
So, just how long has this been going on? Well, there are some who are convinced that Prohibition was actually part of a strategy, schemed up by no less than John Rockefeller, for oil to take over the automobile market. Think about it. Americans like to drink. Most of the members of the American Congress back in 1917 liked to drink to. And prohibition was a ban on alcohol manufacturing, not consumption. Alcohol (biofuel) was used to fuel cars before gasoline. The transition to gasoline happened during prohibition (you couldn't get alcohol). What started it all? John Rockefeller donated 4 million dollars to a temperance society. That's equivalent to 60 million dollars today. Evidently; the oil industry has been manipulating our political system ever since it was powerful enough to get away with it.
So, just how big a problem is it? These massive corporations have taken on a life of their own, and don't intend to die, even if humanity does. Alternative energy has been marginalized for the past 28 years. (I've mentioned the dirty tricks the fossil fuel industry has used in previous posts.) If you remember the 1970's, you'll remember that at no time since has renewable energy had any where near the political support it did back when Jimmy Carter was president. Massive campaign contributions and unprincipled propaganda efforts have seen to that. (Anyone with a TV today might assume the oil companies have switched over to renewables already, if we didn't know any better.) And many within the populous either have been convinced that there isn't a problem, or that there isn't anything they can do about it. Our civilization is in high gear to self-destruction.
So, just how bad is it for some? Since the 1950's, the US Government has been forcing an exodus of over 12,000 Navajo people from their reservation – for Peabody Energy to mine coal there. “Through this forced relocation, the Federal Government has destroyed the subsistence lifestyle of thousands of Navajos, uprooted whole communities, and left the Navajo Nation and Navajo people to bear much of the burden of addressing the extraordinary economic, social, and psychological consequences of relocation.” And now, after all this, John McCain, chairman of the Senate committee on Indian Affairs; is campaigning to put an end to Navajo relocation payments.
I'll bet you thought this all ended back in the 1800's. The white man chasing Indians off their land, and offering them nothing but empty promises in exchange. Well... it's still happening, but it's actually worse now. The white man's corporations contaminate the ground and pollute the air – when there are far cleaner, safer, and less oppressive options (that cost just a little bit more).
This could all be avoided if we relied on renewable energy.
One might conclude that the highway to hell is powered by fossil fuels.
