Friday, October 31, 2008

IT - is fixed when all government rules, laws, regulations are transparent and clear, concise and understandable.

Perspective for your consideration …What does it look like when it’s fixed…?
EPA must limit builders' water pollution …U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upholds a California suit by the Natural Resources Defense Council…By Carol J. Williams, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer …September 19, 2008 …excerpted…The Environmental Protection Agency is obliged by the Clean Water Act to protect the nation's waterways, beaches and drinking water from pollution caused by real estate development and should set standards for limiting construction runoff by the end of next year, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday.
A further appeal is possible, but environmentalists applauded the decision, saying it was likely to spur the EPA to take steps to ensure that development of shopping malls, housing subdivisions and other construction doesn't lead to beach closures, waterborne diseases, flooding, fish deaths or contaminated drinking water.

The EPA began work nine years ago on setting limits for building-site runoff after conceding that it can carry high levels of nutrients and metals into rivers and streams. But the agency then reversed course, eliminating construction from the list of activities it regulates to protect surface waters for consumption, navigation and recreation.
In 2004, the Natural Resources Defense Council sued the EPA for failing to set effluent limits for builders. The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California ruled in favor of the environmental group in 2006 and ordered the EPA to establish standards for the construction industry by December 2009.

In upholding the district court ruling, the appeals court noted that there is nothing in the Clean Water Act allowing the EPA to remove a category of polluter from the federal law's application.

How EPA writes regulation affecting water pollution caused by real estate development will have a significant impact in Arizona. In Arizona aspects surrounding real estate development are acclaimed by all level of politicians as the foundational lynchpins of our economy.

The Great Seal of the State of Arizona depicts the 5 – C’s – those legacy aspects comprising the foundation of our state … copper, cotton, cattle, citrus, climate … today they have all been supplanted by real estate development which enjoys unprecedented power and influence with all levels of city, county and state government.

What I envision is an EPA document portending to take proactive positions on controlling and/or eliminating the pollution of our water sources by real estate development in the preface and in the first pages. When one reads the entire document, we will find weasel language afforded to every governmental oversight agency to permit real estate development to continue as usual, with an occasion fine or headline here and there. But for the most part it will be business as usual.

To except a different document entails that “we” make those writing these regulations aware of our thoughts. Interestingly “we” have no idea who these folks are, where they meet, or if their actions are even subject to “public” input and oversight…? When the proposed regulations are published for comment, they will be in “governmentese” language designed to confuse, confound, obfuscate, conceal and so disguise the real intent so as to make it highly improbable that “we” are able to ask meaningful questions. Writing regulations in clear, concise and understandable language is dangerous as it permits “us” to discern the truth, the one thing these rule writers most desperately want us never to see.

IT - is fixed when all government rules, laws, regulations are transparent and clear, concise and understandable.



… People should never be afraid of their government, government should always be afraid of the people …

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Thursday, October 30, 2008

A SALUTE TO INGENUITY

Perspective for your consideration …
What does it look like when it’s fixed…?

Algae ponds in Gila Bend may help solve oil problem … By Dan Sullivan… ARIZONA DAILY STAR …GILA BEND — excerpted - In dozens of simple ponds in Gila Bend, something is happening that could help ease the nation's dependency on foreign oil. … The project is not controlled by an army of scientists or funded with millions of dollars worth of government research grants — it's a desert shrimp farm that is changing with the times to produce biodiesel from algae, using some of the same algae that feed the shrimp. "Shrimp farmers don't raise shrimp, they raise algae," said Gary Wood, owner of Desert Sweet Shrimp, which is transitioning to a new name, Desert Sweet Biofuels, with its new focus. …. The 50 ponds don't look impressive now — more like craters filled with murky water. But Wood said soon they will look like bubbling pools of split pea soup teeming with algae soon to be transformed into fuel. … "I've heard a lot of people saying 'drill baby drill' when they should be saying 'grow baby grow,' " Wood said. "We're going to grow our way out of this." …. He said his farm has the potential to produce 5,000 gallons of biofuel per acre in two years, and he expects the first gallons of biofuel to be ready in three to four months…. Algae is transformed into biofuels by pressing the oil out of the algae and then adding lye, sodium and ethanol as a catalyst to make the fuel more pure. The lye, sodium and ethanol can be reused. … Desert Sweet has done research trying to find the best strain of algae, and plans to test cultured and indigenous strains of algae. Wood said the company will look for the best strain until it finds "the one that will be a magic bullet." … Biofuels made from algae have an advantage over biofuels made from soybeans, palm oil or corn because algae is not a source of food, growing algae does not use agriculturally fertile land and algae can be grown in treated wastewater, said Joel Cuello, a professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering the University of Arizona. … Cuello said biofuels from algae need to be mass-produced to make them economically feasible. …

Utilizing essentially poor agriculture land, wastewater sewage effluent to produce a product developed from recycled ingredients causes me to rise to salute this one man’s choice to try something outside the “norm” and which I would venture to say is as much a labor of love as it is a commitment to assisting to find viable solutions to our fossil fuel dilemma.

I wish him god’s speed and extend to him my best wishes in his endeavor.

At one time – he – honestly represented that adventurous, inquisitive and challenging nature of America, welcome back …. ?



… People should never be afraid of their government, government should always be afraid of the people …

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quagga mussel may be benign but to rid these pests could kill us

The arrival of the quagga mussel which has been found thorough most of the Colorado River system into the “metro” Phoenix water system should not be viewed as a surprise.

What I find laughable is the Arizona Republic article referenced above which notes … pests (quagga) aren’t health risk … most likely is quite valid.

But guess what…? The methods “we” choose to permit utilities and water purveyor to utilize are health risks. To rid the pumping, treatment, filtration and water delivery systems of this “pest” these folks wash down portions of their system with CHLORINE and are now looking at utilizing a specific microbial toxin that would target quagga with a product know as a BIOPESTICIDE. Are “we” really being asked to believe that both of these products – chlorine and biopesticide are benign and probably good for human kind…?

The carcinogenic affects of chlorine have been clearly delineated and established for years. The fact there is to my knowledge absolutely no testing of this new biopesticide on any aspect of human health makes it highly suspect.

So while the quagga mussel itself may not be harmful to human kind the methods we choose to employ to rid ourselves of this pest … might kill us … but according to our political leadership we do not have any unresolved human health issues relating to water in Arizona …?


… People should never be afraid of their government, government should always be afraid of the people …

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Wednesday, October 29, 2008

in an atmosphere of no oversight monsters are created

Perspective for your consideration … What does it look like when it’s fixed…?

After reading the article referenced below, I am inclined to ask … precisely who in our Arizona state government sees this as a viable form of “serving & protecting” the public’s health…?
What is in the lake’s muck? …By Dick Kamp…Published Tuesday, October 28, 2008 9:57 AM MDT … excerpted…The pumping at Superfund Site and local fishing hole Pena Blanca Lake, 12 miles northwest of Nogales, was 18 days along last Friday. There were 197 million gallons out of 332 million gallons of water that had been sucked out and pumped over the dam spillway at the north end of the lake into Pena Blanca Canyon, hopefully without mercury. A large amount of the lake was now muck instead of water and the stream draining the lake was running down into Agua Fria Canyon and under Interstate 19 by Rio Rico, on the way to the Santa Cruz River.

One could see the sediment that lay below the 57 acre and 51-year-old lake that has been found to contain mercury, arsenic, lead and other heavy metals. How much and how deep is the sediment, and what else might be in it, can’t answered yet. Program Manage suggests sediment is about 12-14 feet in a number of areas, consistent with recent projections, although previous estimates have gone as deep as 60 feet with an average of 21 feet. It is uncertain how thoroughly ground water will be monitored at the unlined site, which will be excavated 14 feet deep and ultimately end up 20 feet high. When the work is complete, it will be reseeded and re-contoured.

However, there are no plans to install monitoring wells, generally costing in the area of $30,000-50,000, to ensure that pollutants do not migrate into nearby groundwater.
Hello, we hope we are not putting mercury into the Santa Cruz River…? We are uncertain how thoroughly ground water will be monitored at the unlined site…? We have NO plans to install monitoring wells to ensure that pollutants do not migrate into nearby groundwater…?

Tell me this is a comedy routine destined for a movie and that ADEQ and ADWR and EPA, ad-nausea did not actually permit and sanction this lunacy…? Who in god’s name signed off on this ridiculous project for and in behalf of the citizens of Arizona…?

Heaven help me I feel I am watching some Halloween horror movie as this is an event with potentially nightmarish consequences.

When “we” choose NOT to be actively involved these are the types of decisions and choices which are made in our stead. By our silence we are complicit.


… People should never be afraid of their government, government should always be afraid of the people …

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Tuesday, October 28, 2008

if you are still looking for someone to blame, look in the mirror

Perspective for your consideration … What does it look like when it’s fixed…?

Lead article headlines such as this one that appears in the Arizona Republic – 10/28/08 – cause me to ask … Who exactly was minding our public cash register during the last legislative budget session …

The principals – our Governor and the leadership of the State Legislature and Senate each point their finger at the other … it’s their fault …

It strikes me these types of articles make a mockery of our reputed commitment to education. This is not representative of providing “quality” education. Why is it that teachers and classroom sizes are almost always the first things government curtails or stomps on when they feel a “cash-pinch” of their own creation…?

I am always surprised that sports i.e. football and basketball, etc are not touched – they are the sacred-cows of our contemporary society.

Our Governor is a most intelligent individual and I know she is aware acts such as this have far reaching and lingering affects within the business and educational communities all over the world. Arizona can not be honestly seen as a place where its citizens and government are truly committed to providing quality education. No - we are committed to the path of least resistance.

Do you actually believe it is only the universities which will be required to lessen the number of their teachers and increase the size of their classes..? I suspect it will be all levels of education beginning in Kindergarten.

I find it laughable there is NEVER any mention on any level of reducing executive administration personnel or decreasing the salary of the college deans or provost or president…like “wall-street” they are exonerated their own golden parachutes still in tact.

Watching our Arizona political and business leader scurry into the back ground seeking the safety of the dark I am forcibly reminded of what leadership can be as portrayed by Michael Douglas in movie - The American President - in his speech to the “press” … We have serious problems to solve, and we need serious people to solve them. And whatever your particular problem is, I promise you Bob Rumson is not the least bit interested in solving it. He is interested in two things, and two things only: making you afraid of it, and telling you who's to blame for it. That, ladies and gentlemen, is how you win elections . We've got serious problems, and we need serious people. And if you want to talk about character, Bob, you'd better come at me with more than a burning flag and a membership card. If you want to talk about character and American values, fine. Just tell me where and when, and I'll show up. This a time for serious people, Bob, and your fifteen minutes are up. My name is Andrew Shepherd, and I AM the President.” …

Sadly Arizona’s leaders choose a different course – that of the “ostrich” – and like them “we” too meekly bow our head and ask no questions of them and demand no answers from them. If you are still looking for someone to “blame” – look in the mirror.


… People should never be afraid of their government, government should always be afraid of the people …

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Get over it and raise HELL

Perspective for your consideration … What does it look like when it’s fixed…?
Company to seek 40% increase in water rates…by Diana Balazs - Oct. 27, 2008 11:10 AM…The Arizona Republic - Paradise Valley and Scottsdale customers of the Arizona American Water Co. (note one of the largest world-wide multinational corporate-for-profit water purveyors on our planet) could face a hefty rate increase - about 40 percent - next summer if a request filed by the company is approved by the Arizona Corporation Commission in March. Company officials say the increase is needed to pay for significant water system improvements and an increase in operating costs. (By God make them prove it in terms and language understandable to a “normal” human being, forget the governmentese crap)
How much will it cost?
• Most of Arizona American's residential customers have a 5/8-inch water meter. If approved, their average water bill would increase by 70 cents per day from $49.21 to $70.26 per month, based on a monthly usage of 20,493 gallons. That translates to about a 43 percent increase.
• Residential customers with a 1-inch meter would see their bills increase by $1.75 per day from $137.35 to $189.86 per month, based on a monthly consumption of 56,575 gallons.
That would represent a 38 percent increase. Many customers hit with surcharges approved by the commission in 2006 in Arizona American's last rate request have seen a drop in bills thanks to a recent commission decision to reopen that case. Paradise Valley officials, residents and resort operators petitioned the commission to review the two controversial fees - a high-block surcharge and a public-safety fire-flow surcharge - after customers were hit with soaring water bills .But those rate reductions, which took effect Sept. 1, are only temporary. The commission will address both surcharges March 19 when it hears the new rate case filed this May by Arizona American. Why rate hike is needed. Since the previous rate filing, Arizona American officials say the company has invested about $26 million in improvements, including building an arsenic treatment plant to comply with new federal arsenic standards and adding new infrastructure to prevent leaks and main breaks and maintain adequate water supply and quality.
The name Arizona American Water might ring a bell for you as they quite recently chose to turn a deaf ear at a ringing alarm allowing the water they provide to portions of Scottsdale and PV to be contaminated. But so far based on the spineless actions of our Arizona Corporation Commission and Arizona Dept of Environmental Quality, they apparently feel …”no harm, no foul” … slap their wrist and let it go at that.
Hey, the requested 40% increase will most likely be granted to Arizona American Water by the industry marionettes on our Az. Corporation Commission. Besides no one got ill or died as a result of the contamination Arizona American Water allowed and besides most likely their executives need an increase in their “golden parachutes” and it would seem based on our choice to finance a $700 billion dollar boon-doogle wall street bail out, we’re more than happy to oblige no strings attached.
And besides you don’t get to be one of the giant world-wide multinational corporate water purveyors without knowing know to “screw” over public officials, many of whom have or will seek employment with them after getting a free education at your expense. It’s all part of that revolving door syndrome.
Arizona American Water may legitimately require an increase in rates, but, those of you served by this corporate water giant ought to be asking what you’re actually getting in return and YOU need to have a hand in all forms oversight from operations to finance and ROI. Sorry, neither ACC nor ADEQ provides oversight. Why, because both agency “cry” they are under-staffed and perhaps to some degree in certain area they may well be. But, the playing field is part of that revolving door where one is a regulator one day and part of the regulated business enterprise the next. It s a game and you the rate payer and in this case Arizona American Water user who picks up the tab.
Think about it, politicians from our Governor to State Legislators and Senators, bureaucratic officials and governmental personnel at all levels can feign and assume their proverbial “ostrich” position – but – like it or not, like the saying on President Truman’s desk … the buck stop here … and here is with you.
Unless you want to pay 40% more for water, I would invite you to organize, get acquainted, talk, become educated on exactly what Az American Water does with its $$$ now and why they need 40% increase. Attend the ACC hearing and DEMAND to be heard and DEMAND straight no BS answers, not the proverbial bureaucratic “gobble-degook” they love to spew. This is not rocket science and our ACC commissioner and Az American Water personnel can provide clear, concise and understandable answers. DEMAND it they chose to be elected …”to serve & to protect” … YOU not corporate interests.
The only thing stopping any of you is – fear – get over it and raise HELL.

… People should never be afraid of their government, government should always be afraid of the people …

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Monday, October 27, 2008

although the 11th hour we have an opportunity to be expresse

Perspective for your consideration … What does it look like when it’s fixed…?

Stop covert bid to gamble beauty…The Arizona Republic… David Nimkin
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/2008/10/25/20081025grandcanyon25.html ... EXCERPTED ... It is indeed ironic, that as we face a financial crisis of historic and global proportions - due in a large extent to deregulation and diverted oversight - the Bush administration would seek to reduce oversight and safeguards for a place as significant and remarkable as the Grand Canyon. Yet that is what has happened - and concerned citizens have only until Monday to oppose this damaging proposal. The swelling price of uranium ore on world markets has sparked renewed interest in mining claims throughout the Colorado Plateau. There are more than 10,000 hard-rock mining claims near Grand Canyon National Park already, and 3,000 uranium-mining claims. Then late last year, the administration authorized a permit for exploratory uranium drilling on federal land just 2 miles from Grand Canyon - risking this national treasure. The administration then offered the public a meager 15 days to learn of the rule change and comment on it. We would be foolish and future generations profoundly sorry, if we don't challenge this perverse effort to ravage our national treasures in the name of resource extraction. Please mail written comments to the Director, Bureau of Land Management, 1620 L Street, NW, Room 401, Washington, D.C. 20036, Attention: RIN 1004-AE05, or visit www.regulations.gov (type RIN 1004-AE05 to find the proposed regulation) and offer your opinion before the close of the public comment period on Monday. It is up to all of us to ensure the Grand Canyon and all national parks are preserved unimpaired for our children and grandchildren. David Nimkin is southwest regional director of the non-profit National Parks Conservation Association.

I rise to express my alarm that as the director of the southwest National Park Conservation Association, Mr. Nimkin would be blind to the manner in which the Bush administration has chosen to treat all aspects of our environment. In his terms as President, Mr. Bush has consistently taken a stand which enhances the bottom line of industry and always opposed to the wishes and concerns of the public. That Bush would at this late date change his stripes and see value in the preservation of pristine conditions in the Grand Canyon is sheer insanity. The mining interest have been working incessantly to open vast new tracts of land to exploration, which I must suspect Mr. Nimkin is far more aware than am I…? To plead the accusations alleged by Mr. Nimkin at the eleventh hour causes me extreme heart burn and I want badly to blame and shame his action, though I can understand his reluctance to act previously.

I suspect under the cover of darkness in the lingering days of the Bush administration actions will be secretly taken which only much later may see the light of day well after the damage has been done. Such has become the lingering action of our Presidents of late as they leave office knowing there is nothing anyone can really do to harm or stop their actions.

In this event, we have been forewarned albeit at the 11th hour, but we do have an opportunity to be expressed should we care to take it.


… People should never be afraid of their government, government should always be afraid of the people …

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given our love to label...what do you suggest we label this

Perspective for your consideration … What does it look like when it’s fixed…?

Given our love to “label” … what do you suggest we “label” this … ?

Reflecting back to my college days as a business student my professors would be pulling at their hair ranting this type of action is tantamount to socialism. How can this be when for the past 35 years or more our political leadership and prominent educators label our economic course as … “free-enterprise-for-profit-corporate-capitalism” … willfully designed with little or no government (pubic) oversight or participation…?

In this moment it is so tempting to point my finger and rant at the action of others all the while willfully refusing to acknowledge my own participation in as well as support for this course of action. It is both amusing and prophetic to acknowledge I chose to have one foot implanted in each camp (a) staying the course to achieve the business mantra of the era – profit maximization - on the one hand, (b) while intellectually acknowledging and supporting “public” participation and oversight. The reflection of that man looking back at me in the mirror, with a knowing smile on his face, echoes what is true for me. One, I did not achieve the goal nor achieve the status as a giant of capitalism as guilt entered when I was about to grasp that proverbial brass ring. Two, deep within me resides the need to be a champion for those unable to defend themselves, not a capitalistic attribute. For years I bounced like a ping-pong ball back and forth between capitalism and socialism to borrow a couple of contemporary labels. Might you have too…?

A label I could be inclined to ascribe to this newspaper article is … “gamesmanship” … a tragic and pathetic effort to perpetuate a dying, diseased and fundamentally flawed socio-economic mantra based on fear and deceit. The “shell-game” being enacted before our eyes is to have “us” – that’s you and me – unconditionally believe and accept that all forms of profit are privatized while all forms of loss are socialized. We are asked to believe the giants of capitalism are to be not only rewarded, but exonerated from any form of liability, accountability or responsibility for any of their actions.

The foundation of our political system to which we have historically paid “lip-service” noting a philosophical difference between – Republicans vs. Democrats, Liberals vs. Conservatives, Right wing vs. Left wing – is likewise dead, dying, diseased, disabled and fundamentally flawed to its very core. Understandably “we” have great difficulty giving up belief in systems which we have been educated to believe portend to express a specific truth. Except for the spelling … Republicans vs. Democrats, Liberals vs. Conservatives, Right wing vs. Left wing … are one and the same, their allegiance being solely... to those holding the reins of power in the “free-enterprise-for-profit-corporate-capitalism” environment in the moment.
We have been educated to see “differences” even those devised solely by propaganda and therefore illusory. It is exceedingly difficult to set aside our personal bias, prejudices, perceptions, evaluations and beliefs and choose as did Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz and dare look behind the curtain to see who is actually manipulating and making the puppet move and speak. But more than that, we “fear” the unknown and will most often choose positions and directions which are NOT in our best interest either short term or long term.
Isn’t that interesting…?

This “gamesmanship” can only endure in a climate fostered and supported by fear. Exposed to the clear light of day the illusory dark forces scamper as rats abandoning a sinking sink as is being increasingly witnessed.

Americans, I believe love to make things complex. Reality is really quite simple. And the complex is merely simple aggregated, nothing more. Were “we” with honest intention coupled with faith to choose to leave this current “gamesmanship” - the universe would open a door.


… People should never be afraid of their government, government should always be afraid of the people …

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Saturday, October 25, 2008

and "we" believe it is SAFE

Perspective for your consideration …What does it look like when it’s fixed…?

Drinking Water of 41 Million Americans Contaminated with Pharmaceuticals
Environmental News Network... Organic Consumers Association …http://www.enn.com/pollution/article/38022 …

An investigation by the Associated Press (AP) has revealed that the drinking water of at least 41 million people in the United States is contaminated with pharmaceutical drugs…EXCERPTED …It has long been known that drugs are not wholly absorbed or broken down by the human body. Significant amounts of any medication taken eventually pass out of the body, primarily through the urine. …"People think that if they take a medication, their body absorbs it and it disappears, but of course that's not the case," EPA scientist Christian Daughton said. …While sewage is treated before being released back into the environment, and water from reservoirs or rivers is also treated before being funneled back into the drinking water supply, these treatments are not able to remove all traces of medications. And so far, the EPA has not regulated the presence of pharmaceuticals in drinking water, meaning that there are no laws in existence today that protect consumers from this increasingly dangerous chemical contaminant of the water supply….Medications for animals also contaminating the water supply…Drugs given to animals are also entering the water supply. One study found that 10 percent of the steroids given to cattle pass directly through their bodies, while another study found that steroid concentrations in the water downstream of a Nebraska feedlot were four times as high as the water upstream. Male fish downstream of the feedlot were found to have depressed levels of testosterone and smaller than normal heads, most likely due to the pharmaceutical contamination in their water…."It brings a question to people's minds that if the fish were affected ... might there be a potential problem for humans?" … While the concentration of drugs in drinking water tends to be low, some medications, such as hormones, are able to operate potently even at concentrations of one part per billion. To make matters worse, there is evidence that the chlorine commonly used to treat drinking water may make some pharmaceutical chemicals more toxic. Thus, the typical claim that "pharmaceuticals are only present in very low concentrations, and therefore could not be dangerous" holds no water (pardon the pun). Not only are some chemicals potentiated (made more toxic) by other chemicals in the water, but to date, there have been absolutely no studies looking at the increased danger posed by combinations of pharmaceuticals now being found.

“IT” will be fixed when headlines like this no longer appear anywhere in the world and when without question we feel absolutely safe to drink any water presented to us for our consumption. And, moreover when the water we use on all forms of agriculture is equally as safe.

I have come to ask, what is the purpose for these types of “hyper” headlines…? Is it easy to make up it is merely to cause fear…? Or is there another more benign purpose in mind…? I propose the formal education we receive about water goes like this. Water is a chemical formula consisting of H2O, the end. In our formal education we are taught that water is inexhaustible can be used again and again without any consideration of what we choose to expose it to. And finally our science says, trust us, you can drink it, don’t be concerned about the smell or that odd taste, it’s good for you, we’ve done double blind studies, you have nothing to fear.

Pioneers like Rachel Carson in Silent Spring, and the French scientist, Jacques Benveniste, who dared say … water has memory … took positions about our environment, especially water that caused them to become pariah summarily denounced by the politically correct medical and scientific community world wide of their time. Interesting how things are correlated as Sir Issac Newton noted, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction and it applies equally to all we say and all we do. In America, we believe firmly entrenched in the infallibility of science while every day all around our globe folks, like you and me, shred this belief to shreds. Intentionally activated energy is moving mountain, healing the sick, clearing the mind, finding ways to clean our air and our water, while many of us choose to remain fixed and locked on to the formal education we received. And, you are free to remain, believing as you choose. There are other paths and directions in which you might look…?

All paths leading to awareness requires each of us to take accountability and responsibility for what we choose to accept as the truth. The underlying premise of the … Clean Water Act … was noble, though man’s greed has unquestioningly corrupted its lofty intent. The economist’s concept of “externalities” most assuredly rears its head when we ponder the implications polluted/contaminated water has on all forms of life, especially mankind.

Without question we accept the bottled water in that designer/decorator plastic bottle is not only safe but healthy and beneficial to you, all the while not aware it often begins its life from the same facet from which you drew water this morning to wash your face. This water, according to this article appears to be laden with microscopic pieces of “stuff” which is not really healthy for us. So, what can we do, (a) nothing, but that’s a choice, (b) scream, cuss, yell, complain and condemn, and that’s a choice too, (c) begin to ask those providing water to you, to explain completely in clear, concise and understandable terms how are they preparing the water they provide to you. And, begin to own that when we take accountability and responsibility for our water, it will be safe. Find that incredible, don’t you…? But that’s what IT looks like to me when it’s fixed.



… People should never be afraid of their government, government should always be afraid of the people …

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Friday, October 24, 2008

next of the list for your carnal pleasure we throw ... (fill in the blank) ... to the lions

Perspective for your consideration … What does it look like when it’s fixed...?

I rise to offer a salute of gratitude to the pending action those sworn to serve and to protect appear to be taking to eliminate callous barbaric animal cruelty.

I remain standing in awe these same individuals by their silence promote callous and barbaric cruelty in the form of “cage fighting” of their fellow human beings. They can point their collective finger, should they choose, towards our State Capital to note our Governor and the 90 mental midgets masquerading as our State Legislature and Senate provided the “law” enabling – “cage fighting” - to be a plank in supporting our state’s economy according to “press” releases.

We humans are quite amazing on the one hand we see, feel, understand and extend compassion to eliminating man’s overt cruelty to animals, while on the other, we choose to turn that now blind eye on man’s inhumanity to man as we engage in – cage fighting - utter brutality for our amusement, enjoyment and to promote our economy…? Is this not on yet another level a re-enactment of the Christians being thrown to the lions for the carnal pleasure of the ancient Romans…?

What is life about, if not to learn to live with as opposed in our hubris to dehumanize, annihilate and slaughter..? That we are able to support all the implications surrounding “cage-fighting” makes the actions of Americans soldiers at Abu Grah in Iraq understandable, though reprehensible.

For you, what does it look like when it’s fixed … or do you feel there is nothing to be fixed…?


… People should never be afraid of their government, government should always be afraid of the people …

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Thursday, October 23, 2008

stupid is as stupid does

Perspective for your consideration …
What does it look like when it’s fixed…?

Yea, I know the article I am referencing below is about water issues in California, so why should we care…? In case you did not know or forgot, our neighbor to the West is that 900# gorilla which like it or not has its foot on our neck respecting Colorado River water, think not, guess again…?

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-water10-2008oct10,0,3193038.story
From the Los Angeles Times - excerpted - …As water level drops at Diamond Valley, rationing becomes more likely … With the lake -- intended as an insurance policy in case of natural disaster -- at only 60% capacity, the MWD board could start rationing Southern California cities as soon as 2009….By Tony Perry … Los Angeles Times Staff Writer …October 10, 2008

Diamond Valley Lake, the giant regional reservoir in Riverside County, has been tarnished by the water woes gripping Southern California. … was meant to be the major drinking-water storage facility for thirsty Southern California, as well as an insurance policy against a traumatic cutoff of water. It's the largest reservoir in Southern California. … As supply has decreased, water from Diamond Valley has been sent by the MWD to its customers to supplement their own declining allocations. … But the end may be in sight, hastening the day of rationing throughout Southern California. Estimating when Diamond Valley will no longer be able to ship water to local agencies is a mixed issue of hydrology and politics. … Drawing the reservoir down too far could leave the region in dire straits -- much like a person who stops paying his homeowner's insurance to save money just days before his house is hit by fire. … Diamond Valley was designed as an emergency source of water in the event of an earthquake or other disaster that could cut flows from the Colorado River and Northern California. … Reservoirs throughout the state are in similar predicaments as storage levels drop. Farms, cities and suburbs are all being hit. … In Los Angeles, the mayor has been pleading with residents and businesses to reduce consumption, backed up by a new "drought buster" ordinance. . … Soon the MWD board will consider plans for rationing.

I rise to query the political “leadership” of metro-Phoenix in particular:
 Is there a unified “water” policy that can be implemented when this area faces “dire” consequences…?
 And what constitutes “dire” consequences…?
 Does the Phoenix metro area have an emergency source of water remotely similar to the Diamond Valley Lake in Southern California…?
 Governor do we currently have a state-wide “drought buster” provisions in place…?

My gut tells me for the past 25 years in particular – Arizona – has chosen to sell its soul to unrestricted growth in the process paying little or no attention to the – unintended consequences – or the externalities of these choices. We are intent to defy the lessons of history and appear on the abyss of a potentially similar fate.

I would like to propose a change in the Arizona state bird from the Cactus Wren to the far more appropriate … ostrich … which is the position Arizona assumes whenever the topic of water is on the table.

You know – Forest Gump was right … stupid is as stupid does … means that stupidity is not just a surface thing derived from a person's appearance. Stupidity is a matter of deeds, not looks. Like other versions, it comes down to this: judge people by what they do, not by how they appear. I don’t know about you but our actions, individually and collectively, respecting – water – are unquestioningly stupid


… People should never be afraid of their government, government should always be afraid of the people …

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Wednesday, October 22, 2008

full disclosure vs behind closed doors

Perspective for your consideration …
What does it look like when it’s fixed…?

Published: 10.06.2008….Developers may win 50%-rain rule…By Tony Davis …
Arizona Daily Star- excerpted - … Standing at the entrance to the new West Side office of Southwest Hazard Control, an environmental-cleanup firm, are 11 corrugated metal tanks, all 8 feet tall and 6 feet in diameter. (equal about 1,600 gallons/each container)…After the West Grant Road site's native mesquites and yuccas and the South American jacaranda trees become established in a year or two, every drop of their irrigation water will come from the tanks. … On Oct. 14, the Tucson City Council will vote on an ordinance to require new commercial developments to harvest rainwater. If it's approved, most of those affected likely won't go that far. The proposal, supported by the city's staff and an advisory committee, mandates that 50 percent of a development's landscaping water must be from rainfall. … That's down from a proposed 75 percent that the committee had endorsed last spring and from some environmentalists' original hope for 100 percent. … But all factions involved agree that a 50 percent ordinance still would put the city in the vanguard. It would bring water conservation one more step toward the foreground during a drought that many scientists say threatens the city's long-term supply of Colorado River water, backers say. … "When people typically think of rainwater harvesting, they think of corrugated metal tanks next to the house. … The water-harvesting system there costs a little over $1 per gallon of stored water, he said, compared with an estimate from the business-backed Metropolitan Pima Alliance of $2 to $4 per gallon for a cistern system…. every site needs to be considered separately, and the city should give incentives such as permit-fee waivers to encourage harvesting. … Another desert reality that must be considered is that some areas get more rain than others during a storm, she said. … "We don't want to create an ordinance that puts an onerous financial burden upon people," … "We're trying to find that spot where we can use this untapped resource of rainwater in an economical and efficient way." …… a few months ago, the Southern Arizona Home Builders Association had criticized as unfair another committee recommendation to make gray-water plumbing mandatory in new homes, because existing homes use far more water. The recommendation became law last month after SAHBA withdrew its objection.

My heart wants me to rise to salute this effort on the part of Tucson, while my head urges restraint, the dichotomy surrounding my ability to trust government. I hold no degree or notoriety in – water conservation – what I know I have learn primarily from the “school-of-hard-knocks” and my life experiences.

Taken solely at its face value, the Tucson proposal mandating a min 50% of landscaping water must come from rainfall can be seen as appreciably challenging. I must note that Tucson has historically shown a far more honoring understanding of water usage than is demonstrated daily by the environs of the Phoenix metropolis. What type of landscaping will emerge from this conservation position is yet to manifest. It is easy for me to approve of this action on the part of Tucson as I do not live there and therefore will be only minimally, if at all, impacted.

My concern lies in the action taken by the officials in Pima County and Tucson to mandate the installation of greywater plumbing in all new homes. As many of you are aware, I fully support an honestly promulgated greywater program developed in an environment of full and open disclosure and discussion. Unfortunately that was not the environment which Karen L. Smith, then the Director of the Water Quality Division of ADEQ permitted in 2005, when the current rules and regulation affecting the design, installation and O&M of all greywater systems were implemented. Under her tutelage the current rules and regulation surrounding greywater are not realistic and are designed to be normally unenforceable. The notion of public health was “kicked to the curb” and summarily dismissed. This is a slippery slope and path upon which we have embarked respecting greywater installations in our state.

Water harvesting and greywater are two sides of the same coin – water conservation – and depending upon the use and the manner of dispersal of the liquid, this require thoughtful contemplation respecting the long term health implications to man.

Or is this scene we are witnessing just another “band-aid” or feel-good placebo government is using to CYA and the water policies and practices they continue to choose to develop and implement principally behind closed doors…?


… People should never be afraid of their government, government should always be afraid of the people …

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Tuesday, October 21, 2008

labels ... do they really benefit humans

Labels … do they benefit man …?

There are unquestioningly situations where labels serve a useful as well as beneficial purpose to man. It is useful to have labels differentiating a can of peas from a can of tomato soup. It is helpful to have numbers on doors to assist one to quickly find a specific destination. It serves mankind to have speed limits posted along highways in the hope that we choose to heed this call to care and cause no harm to others.

Are there instances where labels do not serve or benefit man…? Labels inappropriately applied to people, situations, educational ability, condition of health, labels which falsely describe the contents, labels which perpetuate an unsubstantiated myth and labels used intentionally to deceive.

Our world is full of labels those that are positive, uplift and promote the commonality of man and those that intentionally separate, discriminate and isolate, as well as those that are morally repugnant and deceptive.

We are educated and conditioned by our culture to use and believe without giving any thought to the labels we perfunctorily use every day. Unconscious are we and that’s what we like. In this state we can feign we are unaware and from this artificial state release ourselves from accountability and responsibility. Falsely clearing our conscious some might label this.

As I contemplated my own roll in this labeling arena, I happed to find and read … The Soul of Autism … a book by William Stillman. In this reading it became abundantly clear to me, that to one degree or another, especially as a young child, I too had autistic tendency, though the word was not then formulated. To the degree to which I remain under its influence I will gladly leave to others to label as they deem personally appropriate. The line separating what we choose to label autism vs. Asperger syndrome or other human disability or affliction is exceedingly thin so precisely where along that spectrum I was might be impossible to discern. But no doubt I entered this incarnation initially along that spectrum. This disclosure I make freely and without any expectation or want of pity or choosing to elicit any form of sympathy from anyone. I do it simply because I want to and need to for my own self honesty and transparency.

What I find extremely interesting is the degree to which as a youngster in particular I was influenced by the labels society assigned to everything. Labels were assigned and perpetuated by my family, friends, school and religion and I was supposed to unquestioningly adhere to them. That I was early on labeled a “trouble-maker” is now very understandable as it reflected what I understood to be my only means of overt rebellion and to vent against what I saw as the unjustified labeling so prevalent in our society and which remains undaunted today. I certainly was not absolved then or even now and often repeat without thought the labels so prevalent in my environment.

What I find profound is the degree of significance and validity we unquestioningly choose to attach to labels of all kinds, what say you…? Use of labels for us, especially in America, is like finding the box containing the “holy grail” permitting us to sanctimoniously and safely put everything in a specific place. We use labels to separate, divide, discriminate, cloud, demean, placate, detach, and segregate as well as to isolate. The labels which we normally use are what I would term (label if you will) negative in their overtones, why is that…? There are labels we place on others which hold them up for applause as winners, causing those we term – losers to hang their head as defeated. But is this not really just a form of separation, dividing and conquering…?

We love labels as they allow us to communicate without thought what is false and what is true, label it and be through. Labels allow us to cover even extremely diverse situations using just one word, though as we have not the education we know not how to hear and honestly listen. Hearing and listening are art forms intentionally eliminated in the education we provide. Why is that do you suppose…? One could conjure up the notion, a populous unable to hear and listen is more easily molded and controlled. Over time like animals in Pavlov’s experiments we just react unquestioningly. Life in such a mindset is devoid of intention wherein we just “do it or else.”

There is an allure to labels which in stealth mode form and provide the camouflage we appear so desperately to need. Our current national political landscape is laden with covert labels, which in Arizona echo back to the descriptive term “pickaninny” uttered in the debate about MLK day by now deceased, Governor Evan Mechan. Today, the covert label providing the same stealth transparency and applied to Barack Obama is - arrogant – the lily white code word for “uppity.” Uppity, which I find interesting as that was term my mother often applied to me along with don’t get too big for your britches, young man.

Labels offer us emotional comfort enabling us to differentiate “them” from us. In Arizona, should you be labeled – disabled – watch out as our Governor and the 90 dwarf mental midgets masquerading as our State Legislature will see that you become just more “road kill.” Those we can label as gay, illegals, dopers, prostitutes and homeless, watch out, we’re going to get you too. We’re going to clean up this state and it begins with you, or is that me…?

God, don’t you just love – labels – they’re so much fun and so easily applied and labels we can find to fit anyone or situation our attention is directed to. And much of the time, they, do not even need utter the word for we have been so finely tuned to understand what they are actually referring to. Now how’s that for a perfect robotic response…?

Uppity … that’s a word I suspect is clandestinely used behind closed doors by Director Steve Owens of ADEQ and many in his employ, to label – us – that’s you and me. For them it covers a multitude of situations including covertly denying us our rightful place at the table where every decision is made affecting our environment. It’s the cover word when government says just who do we think we are anyway, uppity are we…? And we grin or shake our head and silently depart leaving them to continue to allow our environment to be raped, pillaged and plundered all in the name of unsustainable growth. Sustainable could also be another “uppity” word for them. I find as I write this one of the unifying songs from the MLK civil rights march era resonates within … “we shall over come, we shall overcome some day” … powerful then, equally powerful today.

Uppity, is one of those labels applied whenever those seeing themselves separate and part of a ruling class, feel a rise on some unexplainable level that “we” – that’s you and me – have had a belly full and revolt. In 1964 a handful of Vietnam veterans out side the Republican convention in Miami in ’64… shouted and demonstrated in the street … alarming the law and order conventioneers of the Nixon era. On the heels of their “uppityness” the travesty labeled the War in Vietnam was to see an end.

We – that’s you and me – are especially fond of those labels so liberally applied to issues surrounding health. He’s an epileptic, she’s has breast cancer, he’s got prostrate cancer, you, know, it’s so sad their child is autistic, their other one has Down’s syndrome, wow. He’s illiterate, can’t read, she’ so dumb, he’s deaf, she has MS, or they’re blind. He’s afflicted with Aspergers Syndrome, she’s got Tourette syndrome, they’re all physically disabled you know. How easily these labels allow us to discriminate, segregate, separate and define – them. Now we’ve safely put them in a box, where they so appropriately belong, don’t they…? Come on, their different from us, aren’t they…? We need some simple method to tell us apart, don’t we…? I mean, like after all, we can't have them thinking they’re as good or “normal” like us…?

These are but a few of the host of labels we so affectionately endorse and unthinkingly use and apply. And these same labels are but a few of those we have been educated to fear. These are but a few of the labels giant pharmaceutical companies tout when they need drive home the benefits their most recent “drug” reputes to cure or eliminate. Take this pill, rub on this salve, swallow this capsule three times a day, rub this goo on your feet and behind your ear, and “we” (big pharma) promises you, you’re cured ____ fill in the blank with every promise under the rainbow. Tragically knowing not another way, we follow them like the children in the story of the pied piper of old.

There are labels we have been educated to reject, scorn, belittle and even hate. Labels which they say, undermines…? Undermines, might may I ask…? Labels which they feel undermine their control over us. Just what might these labels be…? Some of these labels are in the realm as judged by them as being far too esoteric, too far out … words … like energetic, vision, resonate, accountability, responsibility, sustainability and especially love. These words give rise to labels with incredible symbolic power especially when used in the context of issues concerning public policy and social justice. These are the words which give rise to labels which bring fear to them choosing to endorse pubic policy goals that intentionally discriminate, separate, isolate, segregate and inappropriately define. Like everything in life it is a choice we each make with every label we utter. From that, there is no escape. Oh, yes, you may be able to postpone taking accountability and responsibility for every one of your thoughts, deeds, actions in any form, but answer for them, you must and will.

Labels appear to hold and give sway to some magical power over man. Some of these labels are for good and beneficial to all, while others lessen and discriminate. What labels you choose to contemplate and give credence to is solely up to you. Some many years past I got a tape cassette the title I can not recall. On this tape was the life story of Famous Amos, an African-American cookie entrepreneur. Though Amos’s story is fascinating, he gives praise to the passage which follows as being a guiding light for him, when all other lights went out….”Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation) there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. I have learned a deep respect for one of Goethe's couplets: Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it."

I sincerely invite to you and me to consider applying this last line …”Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it” … as one of the foundational labels for your life. Why…? For far too long now, we’ve chosen to individually and collectively give our selves over to – fear. We need only believe in I/you/me/us and leave the fear they promote – out. I/you/me/us have, hold and possess all the power and magic we need to manifest a world based on unconditional love. We might choose to consider as was made famous in Star Trek on TV… to boldly go where no man has gone before … whole-heartedly endorsing unconditional love. Too corny, what have I/you/me/us got to lose…?

And let me be even a bit bolder I am most willing to present and discuss any water issue before any audience in Arizona where full disclosure and two way dialog is permitted.

… People should never be afraid of their government, government should always be afraid of the people …

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Monday, October 20, 2008

WHEN ARE THERE TOO MANY

Perspective for your consideration …
… What does it look like when it’s fixed…?

WHEN ARE THERE TOO MANY …It strikes me to be able to answer this query without further information requires one to possess skills even the illustrious illusionist Harry Houdini did not.

Too many of what …some would suggest the question relates to the number of people occupying this blue-green planet we call Earth. Others would suggest quite different topics.

I ask this question in the context of when are there too many … statutes, laws, rules, ordinances, decrees, acts, edicts, bills, orders, regulations, directives, diktats, commands, and judgments…?

Does anyone actually know the number of federal, state, county, city, to cite but a few, to which we agreed to be subjected….? I truly do not believe any of us has a clue as to the actual number of commands we have agreed to live by…? I would hazard a wild ass guess the actual number is in the many thousands, surprised….?

As if this were not enough, each day, those we elect “to serve & to protect,” us are busy developing more rules, laws, regulations all for the express purpose of what…? I dare say we don’t have a clue…? The words they write are often in direct conflict with previously enacted rules, laws, and regulations and so voluminous are these words, years and often generations pass, before anyone actually discovers the inconsistencies.

One day the action of those sworn “to serve & to protect” is directed to promulgating words expressly for the purpose of punishing and abusing us at the alter of their god – “midas-elite” – whose financial support is now their “mother’s milk.” In their next breath and the next day, these same “leaders” champion positions which on their face appear to actually have our best long term interest at heart. Too often, when one reads the very small fine print associated, revealed is what most of us are intuitively aware … the big print gives, the fine print denies and takes away … and the fine print always exceeds the big print.

Promulgating laws, rules and regulations has evolved into an “art” form whereby success is measured not in how clear, concise and understandable these are designed, but rather how convoluted. And in all cases, we are content to leave ultimate interpretation and therefore control and dominion solely in their hands, why…?

I dare say, there is probably not a day, perhaps not even an hour that goes by that I do not in some way either deliberately or unthinkingly disregard or break at least one if not a host of their laws, rules and regulations. In fact, when I think about it, writing this email can quite easily under the preposterous terms of the laughable and equally bogus - PATROIT ACT - be grounds for rendition.

232 years ago, folks like you and me, simple people, wanting simply to live and let live, to be left free to live our lives in whatever manner we chose, providing in living our life we did not cause harm to others, save slavery and annihilation of indigenous cultures, fought for these rights, which today, we obediently choose to surrender for what…?
The plethora of laws, rules and regulations which govern, control and dominate all of our actions make it virtually impossible for us to consider ourselves – free. We are by choice – slaves.

And we will remain – slaves – until we choose to be solely accountable and responsible for our own lives and not permit it to be controlled, manipulated and dominated by anyone else. There is, I believe, an inherent caveat that in living our life we can not knowing harm other human life. I would go one step further suggesting that we can not knowing harm any other life form, however, I realize that is a proposition perhaps outside the scope of many humans to comprehend.

IT - is fixed when we realize all the written words defining laws, rules and regulations are unnecessary and all that is required is our individual acknowledgment of our need to be honorably and solely accountable and responsible for self.


… People should never be afraid of their government, government should always be afraid of the people …

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Tuesday, October 14, 2008

there is a risk to being an OSTRICH, you think

Perspective for your consideration …What does it look like when it’s fixed…?

The article entitled … EPA: Toxic fuel in water is not a public threat appears in the 9-23-08 issue of the Az Republic … whereas the article below appears in the 9-33-08 issue of the Washington Post … both explore the tentacles associated with PERCHLORATE a cacogenic ingredient which EPA under George W Bush, in particular, declares is not a public health threat.

I want to take this opportunity to encourage and invite everyone to read this document as it may prove to be an eye opener for you – my input follows this document - …. EPA UNLIKELY TO LIMIT PERCHLORATE IN TAP WATER … By Juliet Eilperin…Washington Post Staff Writer …Monday, September 22, 2008… excerpted …. The Environmental Protection Agency, under pressure from the White House and the Pentagon, is poised to rule as early as today that it will not set a drinking-water safety standard for perchlorate, a component of rocket fuel that has been linked to thyroid problems in pregnant women, newborns and young children across the nation.
According to a near-final document obtained by The Washington Post, the EPA's "preliminary regulatory determination" -- which was extensively edited by White House officials -- marks the final step in a six-year-old battle between career EPA scientists who advocate regulating the chemical and White House and Pentagon officials who oppose it. The document estimates that up to 16.6 million Americans are exposed to perchlorate at a level many scientists consider unsafe; independent researchers, using federal and state data, put the number at 20 million to 40 million.
Some perchlorate occurs naturally, but most perchlorate contamination in U.S. drinking water stems from improper disposal by rocket test sites, military bases and chemical plants. A nationwide cleanup could cost hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars, and several defense contractors have threatened to sue the Defense Department to help pay for it if one is required.
The new EPA proposal -- which assumes the maximum allowable perchlorate contamination level is 15 times what the EPA had suggested in 2002 -- was heavily edited by officials of the White House Office of Management and Budget. They eliminated key passages and asked the EPA to use a new computer modeling approach to calculate the chemical's risks.
Under a process the OMB initiated in 2004, federal agencies with an interest in chemicals such as perchlorate, such as the Defense Department, have opportunities to weigh in on the EPA's regulatory decisions before they become final: The Government Accountability Office reported this spring that the Pentagon had pressured the EPA for several years not to regulate perchlorate.
"They have distorted the science to such an extent that they can justify not regulating" the chemical, said Robert Zoeller, a University of Massachusetts professor who specializes in thyroid hormone and brain development and has a copy of the EPA proposal. "Infants and children will continue to be damaged, and that damage is significant."
A reference to those studies in the EPA's proposal was deleted by OMB officials. The document states that establishing a drinking-water standard for perchlorate "would not present a 'meaningful opportunity for health risk reduction for persons served by public water systems,' " but it also reveals that many Americans will be exposed to the compound at levels higher than recommended if nothing is done to remove it. Perchlorate impedes the functioning of the thyroid gland, which produces hormones that foster mental and physical development and control metabolism. The notice indicates that the agency plans to finalize its decision by Dec. 1.
The EPA's assistant administrator for water, Benjamin H. Grumbles, said in a statement yesterday, "Science, not the politics of fear in an election year, will drive our final decision."
"Until then, final numbers and strategies are mere speculation," Grumbles added. "We know perchlorate in drinking water presents some degree of risk and we're committed to working with states and scientists to ensure public health is protected and meaningful opportunities for reducing risk are fully considered."
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, chaired by Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), has endorsed legislation requiring the EPA to set a standard for the chemical and to monitor perchlorate in tap water. Yesterday, Boxer lambasted the agency for refusing to establish a federal exposure standard.
"Perchlorate has been a serious, persistent and widespread problem which threatens the health of our families, especially our children," Boxer said. "For the Bush EPA to walk away from this problem and shrug off this danger is, in my view, unforgivable and immoral."
Federal, state and independent scientists have differed over the years as to what represents an acceptable dose of perchlorate in drinking water, though all have set the bar higher than the non-mandatory level in the EPA's new proposal. In January 2002, the EPA issued a draft risk assessment finding that 1 part per billion should be considered safe; in March 2006, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection set a maximum contaminant level of 2 ppb; last year, California adopted a standard of 6 ppb.
A National Academy of Sciences panel prepared a risk analysis in 2005 that, according to the EPA's traditional models, would produce a protective standard of 1 to 6 ppb. The academy's study came under attack because two of the committee's members had financial ties to defense contractors that face legal liability because of perchlorate disposal.
In the EPA's proposed rule, the administration assumes that perchlorate contamination of 15 ppb is safe. But its regulatory document states that "between 16,000 and 28,000 pregnant women" and 900,000 to 2 million Americans could be exposed to higher levels.
The EPA document also finds that bottle-fed infants would be exposed to more than five times the level the National Academy of Sciences deemed safe -- 700 nanograms per kilogram of body weight per day -- if parents mix formula with drinking water containing perchlorate levels of 15 ppb.
OMB officials said during the drafting process that there was "no need" for detailed data to flesh out a table suggesting that infants would be exposed to perchlorate levels above the academy's recommendation.
To determine safe levels of exposure, the administration opted not to use the academy's "reference dose," a formula that includes a tenfold safety factor to protect children and vulnerable populations, and instead used a computer model developed by the Chemical Industry Institute of Toxicology. EPA officials initially inserted language in the document calling this a "novel approach," but the OMB deleted that language.
Federal officials have yet to determine the extent of perchlorate contamination nationwide, but it is known to be widespread. The GAO, which produced a 2005 report calling for a better federal tracking system for perchlorate, found that limited EPA data show the chemical compound has polluted the soil, groundwater and drinking water in 35 states and the District and has contaminated 153 public water systems in 26 states.
So how does perchlorate play out in Arizona…? Well under the leadership of Governor Napolitano and her ADEQ Director, Steve Owens, we’re going to study this some more in the meantime taking NO action.
Perchlorate has been discovered in drinking wells north of the Az Canal on Tatum while these two have huddled, yet Arizona is NOT prepared to establish a perchlorate quality standard for potable (drinking) water…?
That perchlorate levels exceeding 480 ppb are found in Lake Mead, one of the principal water storage reservoirs for the potable (drinking) water serving metro Phoenix and Tucson and still Arizona under this team sworn to serve and to protect us, they are NOT prepared to establish a perchlorate quality standard for potable (drinking) water…?
As both Napolitano and Owens are attorneys, perhaps they are waiting for the Arizona Supreme Court to make some determination which they can then hide behind…? Or maybe they require a more overt form of proof on the cacogenic qualities of perchlorate, like carcasses of dead, dying, disease, disabled men, women and children…?
It is unconscionably for Arizona’s Governor and her Director of Environmental Quality do nothing on the one hand, while proclaiming to the world at large our water is - safe - and we have all the water we need. The two of you, indeed have learned well the mantra about lying… “If you tell a lie long enough, loud enough and often enough, the people will believe it” … Adolph Hitler
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////
.NO IT IS NOT IN OUR BACK YARD, BUT AT THE VERY LEAST “SIN” CITY IS AT LEAST ACKNOWLEDGING THEY HAVE A PROBLEM WHICH IS MORE THAN ARIZONA IS EVEN WILLING TO CONSIDER …?
LAS VEGAS SUN … 9-29-08 … Joel Schoenmann … ENVIRONMENT…EXCERPTED … Cleaners’ chemical lingers in water, soil …Huge ‘plume’ traced to business under bankruptcy protection …A massive plume of pollution under acres of homes, roads and a golf course in central Las Vegas is the worst of 28 sites in the valley contaminated by the same chemical. The gas-like mass of perchloroethylene, PCE, also known as tetrachloroethylene, or TCE, is emblematic of the intersection of older, less regulated Vegas — indeed, the entire nation — with a world of science that discovers dangers in commonplace practices of years past.
The sites identified by the Nevada Environmental Protection Division include two at Nellis Air Force Base, three at casinos and 19 at current or former dry cleaning businesses. The chemical is widely used for metal degreasing as well as for dry cleaning fabrics. Inhalation of its fumes can cause neurological, liver and kidney problems, according to the EPA. Studies have found that prolonged exposure increases the risk of cancer. The EPA is currently reassessing its potential carcinogenicity. Perchloroethylene remains in use in the dry cleaning industry, though other solvents with less harmful effects are also being used. Dry cleaners are now asked to take special precautions against site contamination to prevent PCE from getting into drinking water. In 1991, California declared perchloroethylene a toxic chemical, and its use will become illegal in that state in 2023.
TCE … http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts19.html ...for one site with information which you may find useful and informative
PERCHLORATE … http://www.dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/perchlorate ... for one site with information which you may find useful and informative.
PCE … http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts18.html … for one site with information which you may find useful and informative
The Arizona vision to serving and protecting the public as well as providing environmental protection is to not acknowledge that TCE and PERCHLORATE and PCE are carcinogenic and something the public ought to be made aware of and a pro-active posture taken to address and remediate it.
Arizona believes, what the public doesn’t know, can’t hurt them…? And besides, when the Governor and State Legislature don’t address it, then they don’t need to budget for it and you know how they “balance” your state’s budget…?

… People should never be afraid of their government, government should always be afraid of the people …

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bottled water is safer, yea right

Perspective for your consideration …

Water: Americans face battle with the bottle -- By The Wisconsin State Journal--Friday, September 26, 2008 -- arizonadailysun.com -- Flagstaff -- Just about every American house has plenty of tap water available anytime. So why has bottled water consumption doubled in the last decade? On average, American consumers drink about 28 gallons of bottled water annually per person. One reason: many people seem to believe that bottled water is actually safer than tap water. There's some credence to the claim: some local newspaper investigations have shown all manner of contaminants in supposedly treated municipal water. But after a four-year review of the bottled water industry and the safety standards that govern it, the National Resources Defense Council concludes that bottled water is no cleaner or safer than water from the tap. "An estimated 25 percent or more of bottled water is really just tap water in a bottle – sometimes further treated, sometimes not," says a NRDC report.

Who monitors quality? The feds. But while U.S. Food and Drug Administration standards for contaminants take into account the Environmental Protection Agency's tap water standards, the two standards aren't identical. Some standards for bottled water are stricter than for tap, such as those for fluoride and lead. But some are not. Bottled-water companies may not disinfect or even test for parasites such as Cryptosporidium or Giardia - requirements for municipal tap water. The FDA says bottled water sources are unlikely to harbor the parasites. …. OBSERVATION …. BOTTOM LINE … IT’S A CHOICE YOU NEED TO MAKE AS THERE IS NO SINGLE STANDARD – NOTE – THE FOX IS GUARDING THE HEN HOUSE.

So what's the problem? Water bottles are often made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET #1), a product of crude oil. "Making bottles to meet Americans' demand for bottled water requires more than 1.5 million barrels of oil annually, enough to fuel some 100,000 cars for a year," according to the Earth Policy Institute. Transporting bottled water consumes energy, adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, contributing to global warming. Plastics are generally recyclable, but we are less likely to recycle water bottles. The Container Recycling Institute claims that a high percentage of plastic water bottles used in the United States become garbage or litter. …OBSERVATION … BOTTOM LINE …. MOST OF THE PLASTIC USED TO PRODUCE BOTTLED WATER IS NOT RECYCLED

What are the alternatives? Increasingly, restaurants serve free, filtered local tap water instead of expensive bottled water. This "drink local" movement benefits environment and customers by avoiding the environmental costs of producing and transporting bottled water long distances. The downside: Banning bottles can mean a significant loss of revenue for establishments used to marking up bottled water prices.

Mark Twain's famous quotation, "figures don't lie, but liars figure," is very appropriate when it comes to any discussion respecting “bottled” water. There is notable difference in the numbers depending upon who is attempting to make a point – pro or con – respecting “bottled” water. Many NGO sources note that at least 40% of all “bottled” water especially in the USA begins its life as nothing more than ordinary water from the same facet you get your water delivered. Then as a result of “processing” it is magically transformed into a myriad of brand names all attempting to denote themselves as transformative, benevolent to your inner healing or appealing to some other intrinsic emotion.

This is sheer lunacy given the fact overwhelmingly we package this product in PLASTIC, which immediately begin to deteriorate when exposed to UV (sun) which negatively impacts the water altering whatever “magic” the for-profit-corporations wanted you to believe they imparted into their special brand of water in the first place.

In our robotic stupor in a manner reminiscent of Pavlov’s dog’s we obediently consume the for-profit-corporate elixir.


… People should never be afraid of their government, government should always be afraid of the people …

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Monday, October 13, 2008

NON-DENIAL, DENIAL THIS PASSES THE "SMELL" TEST IN ARIZONA AS THE TRUTH

Perspective for your consideration …
What does it look like when it’s fixed…?

What does … “it’s important to note that George Johnson and any of the entities related to George Johnson have NOT admitted to liability or fault” … says their spokesperson.

I would appreciate your input and assistance to enable me to understand and comprehend what the statement above really means…?

Let me understand, though this individual voluntarily without duress chose to sign a legal document in this care a - consent decree - which commits them to paying 1.25 million dollars in the form of a fine, we allow them by some slight of hand to anoint themselves as pure as Ivory soap …. 99..44% pure.

Just what in the hell does this “double-speak” really mean…?

Were I to choose to remit payment to a lawful governmental agency for say an alleged speeding ticket … can I honorably claim while I paid the assessed fine, I am NOT admitting to any liability or fault, even though it is my picture on the “photo-radar”…?

It seems to me, were I actually NOT liable or at fault, I would NOT under any circumstances pay the fine, no way, no how. And I most assuredly would not sign a consent decree…?

This is certainly not the first nor will it be the last instance where we meekly permit the wool to be pulled yet again over our eyes. The question I have is why we continue to permit and excuse this behavior, conduct, deportment and call it – justice served…?

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Sunday, October 12, 2008

and by god we are stupid

Appearing on the front page continuing to page A-6 of the 10-12-08 issue of the Arizona Republic is an article … Retail worker flood heath plan … I could sure use your help…? Can anyone explain to me how the largest corporate retail company in the world – WAL-MART - and the largest employer in the State of Arizona can have the more than 5% of its Arizona work force covered by tax-payer public financed health care…?

Like moths drawn to the proverbial flame “we” flock to Wal-Mart for the “cheapest” all the while patting ourselves on the back for our “good-fortune,” blatantly choosing to ignore contrary or contradicting information, which informs us on the EXTERNALITIES our own greed permits the Wal-Mart’s of the world to push off onto others in our world society, including their own employees.

Before we choose to point our finger and shake it at Wal-Mart, or McDonalds or any of the major food purveyors, i.e. Frys, Basha’s, Safeway, Target, let us take long hard look at exactly who is looking back at us in the mirror…? It’s me, it’s you, it’s us - we are accountable and responsible for the disgraceful plight of today’s health care in America.

Serendipitously I happened to watch the DVD … SICKO … yesterday, and as I was reading this article I was forcible struck by a scene in this movie where while engaged in conversation with Americans now residing in France the comment of one of them … Americans are afraid of their government, in France the government is afraid of the people … this is most poignant and reminds me of the line from the motion picture … “V” … people should not be afraid of their government, government should be afraid of the people …

I find I am awed that the Walton family in aggregate is the largest, biggest, grandest, greediest capitalists in America. And every day giving into our own “greed” we increase their wealth while at the same time decreasing our own. By our very actions we vote and take action against our own best interests. Like Forest Gump noted … stupid is as stupid does … and by God we are stupid.

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Saturday, October 11, 2008

POSTURED AS A "BOLD" PLAN - IN REALITY A "BRASH" MOVE

Presented as a “bold” endeavor in reality it is a “brash” plan with potentially negative health effects for generations …

I find a bit of serendipity in these two seemingly divergent above notations. The article captioned … A BOLD PLAN … appears on the editorial page of the 9 Oct 08 issue of the Arizona Republic … while the invitation to the Growth & Water Supply conference I found in my PO Box today. The editorial lauds Tucson’s water conservation efforts which taken solely at face value is indeed noteworthy. The water conference is designed primarily as they indicate for … professionals in the legal, development, engineering, planning, supply or environmental community … I suspect I was extended an invitation by virtue of being in the environmental – water & wastewater - field for the past 33 years.

Here’s where serendipity comes into play. One of the featured and lauded presenters of this conference is none other than … Karen L Smith, PhD., currently Deputy Director of Arizona Dept of Environmental Quality. The same Karen L. Smith, who was Director of the Water Quality Control Division of ADEQ in 2005, who summarily and arbitrarily shut off and denied “open” full disclosure discussion on the revision to the rules and regulations affecting GREYWATER systems, among a host of other topics, all to get her rule approved by GRRC at their November 2005 meeting. Her efforts were successful and Arizona is today blessed with convoluted and bastardized rules and regulations governing the design, installation, O&M of all greywater systems which do not address public health short term or long term. But, hey, as the write-up in the “flyer” depicts …Karen L. Smith has experience serving as the Water Quality Director of ADEQ and working in water resources management for SRP, but today “serves & protects” you as Deputy Director of ADEQ. For me this is just one more example of that revolving door between governmental regulators and those they regulate.
Greywater properly implemented incorporating processes to honestly provide a – safe – greywater can be in extremely beneficial for all of Arizona. The rules and regulations implemented under the care, custody and control of Karen L. Smith do not honestly address either the short term or the long term pubic health consequences. For the record, Ms. Smith, I am most willing to discuss this with you at any open public forum. As you are aware, Ms. Smith, Dr. Charles Gerba on the faculty in the Department of Soil, Water at the UA has conducted studies which raise significant questions about the greywater program you chose to allow to be implemented on your watch.
Though I too would like to stand and laud the effort Tucson is making respecting – greywater – I do not see their plan as bold, but rather as “brash” and pre-emptive lacking honest public “buy-in” and without a full airing of all the facts and health implications if the Tucson program is undertaken utilizing the current ADEQ greywater rules and regulations promulgated under Ms. Smith’s watch.

As I have noted in previous discussion papers, if this is such a BOLD and innovative concept why not extend it – state-wide – holding and conducting instruction in every corner of our State showing folks how to design, install and maintain, oops, forgot, under Ms. Smith’s plan there is no long term O&M required, a greywater system.

Any why limit it to greywater, let’s honestly endorse and support all - “water harvesting” – processes…?

I do want to stand and honestly salute our neighbors in Tucson for having the “guts” to at least put the topic of – water harvesting – in its many forms, colors, shapes and sizes on the table for John Q Public to begin to comprehend its longer term implications.

"By means of water, we give life to everything.“ … Koran, 21:30 … I trust our collective action leads to solutions where man will have sufficient and safe water to enable us to give life to everything…

A bold plan
The Arizona Republic
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/2008/10/09/20081009thur2-09.html

Water-harvesting law would benefit Tucson
Arizona Daily Star... George Larsen
http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/261485

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Friday, October 10, 2008

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A FREE LUNCH

Perspective for your consideration …What does it look like when it’s fixed…?

Sunday – 9-21-08 – Az Republic – BOLD EFFORT TO CLEAN AIR – AT A COST …?

As I read this article it strikes me that perhaps “we” feel there should not be any price to pay to clean up the “mess” we permitted and contributed in creating in the polluting and contaminating of our air…?

The late economist, Milton Freedman, is reputedly credited with noting … “there is no such thing as a free lunch” … and this sentiment it seems to me certainly applies to cleaning up the air we breathe.

While “we” may not like it, this cost is but a part of that EXTERNALATY iceberg which for years revealed only a very small portion of its mass. Now this EXTERNALATY looms significant on our horizon. We are being invited to deal with the consequences of pollution of our atmosphere head-on or face a fate not unlike the Titanic.

We can choose to (a) do nothing and permit mankind as we understand and know it to be extinguished, (b) take bold action knowing full well these actions will cause displacement and inexorably alter the manner in which we conduct our lives, (c) continue to play the “blame” game under the illusion we are NOT making any choice. The reality is in this “game” even stealth is a choice and has consequences.

We need be aware this is but one of a number of icebergs we will face and which loom on our horizon.


Website address for Paul F. Miller’s blog …. http://energeticsynergy.blogspot.com

And let me be even a bit bolder, I am most willing to present and discuss any water issue before any audience in Arizona where open full disclosure and two way dialog is permitted.

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Thursday, October 9, 2008

IT'S TIME TO COME CLEAN - GOVERNOR

Perspective for your consideration …
What does it look like when it’s fixed…?

Arizona Republic … 9 Oct 08 … by Matthew Benson … State contracts larger than $50,000 on hold… Faced with growing fears about the economy and a darkening fiscal picture for state government, Gov. Janet Napolitano vowed Wednesday to freeze all state contracts larger than $50,000 until they can be reviewed. …. The move immediately applies to all state agencies, and she has asked the state's public universities to do likewise. …. "Hopefully it will not be a roadblock but will be a way to ensure we are only spending what is mission-critical this year," Napolitano, a Democrat, told reporters. With its depressed housing market, Arizona has been particularly hard-hit by the national downturn in the economy. Legislative budget officials have said the state shortfall for this fiscal year, which ends June 30, could range between $550 million and $1 billion. That would come on top of a nearly $2 billion shortfall that legislators closed last spring. …. Napolitano has also asked school districts to find additional administrative savings that can be moved into classroom spending. …. The push is similar to one the governor made soon after taking office in 2003, although she acknowledged the state has recently seen "some slippage" in school-spending efficiency. … The renewed emphasis also may help inoculate K-12 education against significant spending cuts over the next year, when Napolitano and legislators will be looking for savings to manage the budget deficit.
As a businessman who has had contracts with the State of Arizona for amounts equal to and in some cases greater than $50,000, I rise to ask if this is to be the policy of our Governor, how does she expect her constituents will choose to react to this diabolical and draconian action on her part…? Perhaps I do not understand and her actions only apply to those situations where the contract or agreement is not yet signed…? The article is not specific as to what her actions apply.

One can only hope our Governor is not pursuing a policy of terminating signed agreements which will be met with an outcry heard around the globe. A choice to terminate a signed agreement sends the clear undeniable message that the State of Arizona can not be trusted. Is this really the message you want to send, Governor…?

Business did not make the projections upon which you chose to rely in promulgating your most recent illusionary budget. Business and the citizens of Arizona should not be hostage to your politically motivated action to CYA on a budget that you essentially fostered and championed thorough this last legislative session.

You made the mess, Governor, you need to come clean and honestly inform us as to what the real numbers are and how dire is our state’s financial picture under your leadership…?

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CIVILITY ... thoughtful dialogue

Perspective for your consideration …
What does it look like when it’s fixed…?

“Committed to getting past the narrow partisanship of contemporary politics and rebuilding a tradition of thoughtful dialogue and political civility.” … Mickey Edwards

As I listened on the radio to the alleged presidential debate on Tuesday evening I was forcibly struck by what appeared to me to be near utter contempt in the tone and tenor of these men asking to be considered as our – leader. The veil of civility was hanging by a mere thread as they skewered, sliced and diced into each other.

I suspect this played well in Arizona, where, thanks to the thoughtful action of our Governor and State Legislature we endorse with open arms the civility of those choosing to engage in “cage-fighting.”

I realize the term – debate – has been politicized and is not truly used in its precise context but rather euphemistically, to create the illusion that under the guise of debate politics as usual will be conducted.

I don’t know about you, but what resonated clearly, concisely and understandably is how polarized we are in America. Tragically we permit words and their meaning to be defined in the spur of the moment, by any party, to prove any point, and why…? Because we have for these past 30 year or more allowed others to do all the thinking for us. They define the game, make up the rules on the fly, without any oversight from us, divide us, separate us and define us all to dominate and control us.

It might be worth considering a position espoused by the National Civility Center … which notes the foundation of any community is the quality of its relationships and levels of trust between people and across its institutions. Building relationships and increasing levels of trust is the cornerstone to the community improvement process. In order to do this, communities must engage in civil behavior and dialogue.
Guy Burgess, Ph.D. and Heidi Burgess, Ph.D. …Co-Directors, Conflict Research Consortium, University of Colorado … wrote in 1997 … “The increasingly vocal campaign for civility in public discourse reflects an understandable and widespread frustration with the current tenor of political debate. There is a growing realization that our inability to deal with broad range of problems is largely attributable to the destructive ways in which the issues are being addressed. This raises a crucial and increasingly controversial question--what exactly do we mean by "civility"? … In short, any reasonable definition of civility must recognize that the many differing interests which divide our increasingly diverse society will produce an endless series of confrontations over difficult moral and distributional issues. Often these issues will have an irreducible win-lose character and, hence, not be amenable to consensus resolution. While continuing confrontation is inevitable, the enormous destructiveness which commonly accompanies these confrontations is not”.
While some long for the “good-old-days” which is truly but a mirage, the world in which we now live is, though many continue to choose not to believe, utterly interdependent. And to successfully survive in this new environment an honorable self promoted degree of civility is required, lest we return to the darker days of war and more war and still more war to the annihilation of the all of mankind.
It would seem that it would be to our selfish best interest to elect leaders at all levels from school boards, to county boards of commissioners/supervisors, governors, state legislators, federal congressmen and senators, sheriffs, marshals, and boards controlling your water and power, individuals with the capacity to honestly choose to engage in open discourse in an atmosphere of civility. For as pointed out in 1977, often these issues will have an irreducible win-lose character and, hence, not be amenable to consensus resolution. While continuing confrontation is inevitable, the enormous destructiveness which commonly accompanies these confrontations is not
This notion of …amenable to consensus resolution …is one that many of you are aware is near and dear to my heart, though it remains extremely problematical in the hallowed halls of governmental regulation and bureaucracy. In these environments the mantra remains, divide and conquer, separate, convolute and non-disclosure which can only lead to further polarization.
Civility is transforming creating an atmosphere in which the views, positions, observations, opinions and analysis of others will honorable be considered, valued and assessed. Civility is in today’s world counter intuitive as we embrace “speed” and actions taken and achieved expeditiously, though often later deemed capriciously. Civility requires we make and allow the – time – for everyone’s view to be heard before rushing headlong into decision. This time factor is a source of incalculable distress for many still clinging to the notion that time is an enemy. Time in our current contemporary illusion is seen as either friend or foe, for many, with no “gray” as either or, black or white. But is that true…?
Might discourse conducted under honoring terms of civility produce understanding to which the all of man can choose to “buy-into” leading to the probability of a longer period of unified thought and action. The haste of our contemporary decision making environment coupled with its lack of civility has not to this point produced results which are proving beneficial to the all of mankind.
The civility which money will purchase is rarely extended to those who have none. ..Charles Dickens

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Tuesday, October 7, 2008

reflective of our midas creed and greed

Perspective for your consideration …What does it look like when it’s fixed…?

This article in the 9-19-08 issue of the Arizona Republic entitled … LAW OK’ING FIERCER ARIZ CAGE FIGHTS SPURS CLASH …

Welcome to Arizona’s version of Rome’s theater where the lions fed on the flesh of humans – blood sport – it was. Our Arizona version involves only humans beating and punching another human into submission or a stupor or even death.

I find myself asking what purpose “cage fighting” serves…? How did we in Arizona become so blood thirsty…? What redeeming quality does cage fight have…? Perhaps it is reflective of that small portion of our population which condones “rooster” fighting, another blood sport to entertain us…?

What leads one to choose to witness another human beaten, kicked, battered and bludgeoned into submission…?

To pay an admission fee to witness such savagery makes understandable the brutality “we” chose to inflict upon helpless individuals in Abu Graibh prison.

Though not directly a part of this cage fighting topic we should be cognizant of the recent tragic death of a young man fighting at an event deliberated staged on Indian reservation negating the laws of the state of Arizona and in this case rules governing how these fights were to be conducted. Might it be possible this money driven decision played a hand in the tragic death of this young combatant fighting in what was billed as a charity event…?

This is how Arizona chooses to depict the nobility of man…?

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in stealth we watch

Perspective for your consideration …What does it look like when it’s fixed…?

Summit cyanide ban challenged …Bob Berwyn…Summit Daily News…Summit County, Colorado… excerpted … A local ban on cyanide mining would prevent mining companies from revisiting old mine sites and using a potentially risky open-pit method to try and extract gold from piles of tailings and waste rock….The Colorado Supreme Court on Tuesday took on the question of whether a Summit County ban on cyanide-based gold mining is constitutional, probing the boundary between state and county authority.

The article referenced notes action being considered by our neighbors to the Northeast in Colorado. Arizona mining is replete with copious amounts of toxic chemicals such as cyanide being used as part of leaching operations in the extraction of gold and copper.

ADEQ, the state agency formed and mandated to be our “watch-dog” - to serve and to protect us - has become instead that lap-dog which licks its master’s hand and sits idyllically at their feet.

Hourly our water – both surface and subsurface – is subject to receiving the residuals from the cauldron of chemicals mines use to extract and process their particular metal of profit.

As “we” choose not to rise and with clarity speak out and denounce this type of action can “we” honestly choose to call or paint the mines as wrong and bad…? Would not our silence be logically interpreted by the mines that we care not what they do or how their actions affect our health…? And the health of those yet unborn…?

It will not change and it will not be fixed until each of us chooses to honestly take full accountability and responsibility for all of our actions and yes, our inactions, too.

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French picnic tax might be worth considering

Perspective for your consideration …What does it look like when it’s fixed…?
France to create 'picnic tax' on pollution …excerpt…PARIS (AFP) — France's environment minister Monday announced plans for a "picnic tax" on throw-away plates, cups and cutlery, as part of a broad drive to slash pollution and energy use…."We are doing it," Jean-Louis Borloo told RTL radio, saying the levy would apply to items made of non-recyclable plastic or paper, and would represent about 90 eurocents per kilogram…."Rather than a tax, we prefer to call it a contribution on high waste-producing products," his ministry said, adding that the proceeds would be used to subsidies recyclable goods…The measure is the latest in a series of initiatives by France to lower its bill for imported energy and its emissions of greenhouse gases.
Yea, I know, because it’s not an American idea and especially because the French came up with it, it’s not valid. IT is fixed when we – Americans – get over our hubris. Sorry, the world does not revolve around us. And all great ideas do not initiate only in America. I believe some many centuries past that notion was put to rest as a wise mind determined this planet we all occupy revolves around the Sun. Or is that still in dispute for some Americans…?
Hey, it’s thinking a bit outside the box, something in America we have been educated not to do as for so long now have we drunk the corporate “kool-aid” to the point where we can only react like one of Pavlov’s dog’s in his experiments.

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