Littlestuff Weekender-3-10-2012

At 2:00am Sunday morning our ‘time” is magically transformed, and we begin to save daylight. This maneuver has always puzzled me because “saving” suggests some form of storing, and I’ve never found a system that will successfully retain daylight for more than several hours. Maybe our new emphasis on green energy development can include a daylight storage component. We can pass out billions of research and development dollars to well-placed friends of politicians who will, in turn, hire tens (perhaps even dozens of people) of people to resolve the problem. If anyone can possibly save daylight for an extended of time without its molding or rusting, our efficient government bureaucracy armed with unlimited cheapening dollars will find a way….or not.

One other aspect of Daylight Savings Time that perplexes me is why do we go back to Standard Time for such a short period? From the end of October to mid-March isn’t very long, so why bother? Perhaps it’s an extension of Obamacare as the government gurus assume that several senior citizens will tumble from ladders while changing clocks thus saving dollars for Medicare and Medicaid after they break their fragile necks. Just a tin-foil thought. Almighty God has cautioned us that His ways are not our ways, and we are incapable of totally understanding everything about Him. Obviously our government and its representatives believe they are godly because nearly everything they do is beyond human comprehension. Frankly, I trust the Original Creator, but fear and distrust the interloping copycat.

For those of us who remain transfixed by the GOP race for the presidential nomination….the Kansas caucuses are today (Saturday) and Mississippi and Alabama selections are coming this week. The three leading contenders are all predicting victory. I suspect that none of them will be correct. The mess marches on.

Greece has technically defaulted although the true default was nearly two years ago. Once again bond holders will be holding the bag. If you were one of those, you deserve your “haircut.” Greek bondholders are being transformed into “skin heads” right before our very eyes.

What a jolt as Chevy suspended production of the VOLT. Purchases by government and General Electric were not enough to prop up this latest socialist-managed-economy-government-meddling fiasco. I suggest you hold off placing your order until after the new GM-Puegot merger has been finalized wherein you might qualify for a 100% subsidy. Of course you’ll have to supply your own batteries at $12K each, your 40-mile extension cord and your very-own EPA-DOE approved charging station (roughly $275,000 plus ten years delay for impact studies). It’s really tough to top those wonderful government subsidies. Geeeesh.

So President Obama and his covey of clowns are becoming quite perturbed because the “new media” are vetting him. Andrew Breitbart’s recent death has generated more interest in his site’s recently released videos about BHO’s college years. Unlike Anthony Weiner, the President doesn’t want to be ‘exposed.’ Our modern-day Manchurian Commander-in-Chief confidently believes that he can fool all the people all the time…..well, except for those pesky right-wing zealots. It will be up to individual states to determine if Obama is qualified for their respective November ballots. Clearly….the distribution of Democrats versus Republicans will factor into each state’s decision-making process. It must be states who take the lead because Boehner is too cowardly and Harry Reid is too far in the tank for Obama to assure a fair and just Congressional effort.

http://youtu.be/lxn48wSiCzg

As the conference tournaments wrap up this weekend, we surge into March Madness next week. There will probably be enough money wagered in office pools to severely dent the national debt. Just like career politicians and bureaucrats, many of those who gamble will have little real knowledge about the vagaries of college hoops. They will generally really on the S.W.A.G. method for designing their brackets (SWAG = Scientific Wild-A$$ed Guess)….just like government only without the “scientific” part. Good luck and NEVER choose a 16 seed to win it all.

Earlier I wrote a column that briefly addressed the Sandra Fluke-Rush Limbaugh kerfluffle (“Sluts and Nuts,” 3-7-2012). This little news item is unworthy of prolonged consideration because it was a movement by strident socialist women to move the contraception debate away from Church-State-1^st Amendment issues into the realm of anecdotal downtrodden victim of the system. They chose the wrong representative. Fluke is not a sympathetic character, so when Limbaugh stepped in it and rendered his infallible judgment, the focus quickly shifted toward his supposedly misogynistic attitudes. The old line is “when you wrestle with pigs you have to get into the mud with them….and they have the advantage there.” Still it is much ado about nothing yet it has eaten up bandwidth and print space.

Have a special weekend as you “spring forward.” Monday’s column will be “The Placebo Effect”  …. Unless I change my mind.

cearlwriting@hotmail.com

www.littlestuff-minoosha.blogspot.com

Leery Erie

Those of us who live in Ohio should be aware that the Lake Erie eco-system is threatened again. As the shallowest and warmest of the Great Lakes, Lake Erie seems susceptible to every potential fresh-water malady. Unlike the alarmism spread by the chicken-little earth-is-melting crowd, the Erie threats are visible to anyone who chooses to look. Invasive species and highly toxic algae are the headliners of the choking attempt to strangle Lake Erie. This challenge is not Ohio’s alone because 3 other states and the province of Ontario access the lake. Aside from Ontario, Ohio does enjoy the largest coastal area.

Last week I sat in for Brian Wilson, the afternoon host at WSPD, Toledo, and the topic of Lake Erie’s precarious position was one that we discussed. The danger from the invasive species and the algae is so great and so imminent that proactive measures must be initiated promptly. If they are not, the combined threats could prove to be devastating for the lake. State officials are aware of the lurking danger, but have spent the bulk of their efforts pleading for federal help and intervention. Given that Ohio is now controlled lock, stock and barrel by the Republicans, the EPA under an extremely partisan Democratic administration will not soon be rushing to the rescue. That is a fortunate development because the Environmental Protection Agency   is an out-of-control, sometimes-rogue element of the federal government.

The proliferation of algae is related to the phosphate discharges and runoffs in the Lake Erie Basin Area. Because of the federal EPA’s propensity for overreaching, it seems likely that their remedy for restoring the balance of the lake would include severe restrictions on watershed agriculture and more stringent discharge allowances for the many municipalities and water/sewer districts that use the lake and its feeders and tributaries as repositories for effluent. The typical heavy-handed EPA approach is to levy massive fines, issue “cease and desist” orders and require massive disruptions in policies, procedures and practices of the affected industries and political subdivisions. Clearly the lake must be preserved for a number of obvious reasons. First, good stewardship requires that we protect a valuable resource such as Lake Erie. Second, the lake is an outstanding economic factor for the state and the region as a source for fresh water fish and a recreational bonanza. In addition, Lake Erie provides a shipping and transportation resource that serves the entire Midwest region of the United States. There may be other critical reasons for protecting Lake Erie, but the final one that I wish to address at this time is the lakes’ fresh water. The Great Lakes’ water is a huge valuable resource that is coveted by other regions.

Because the federal EPA is so strident and restrictive, it is best if the states and Ontario can address and resolve Lake Erie’s problems. In a sense the coordinated effort could be similar to “passive nullification.” Even though political considerations have led to EPA foot-dragging regarding the condition of Lake Erie, if the feds observe an active approach from the states, they will attempt to intervene to protect their turf. The states should respond with a “thank you, but no, thank you.” I fear, however, the state legislature has already sought federal assistance and will submissively yield to any federal effort to assume control. The state political class will once again fail to do its duty and place the people and the economy of Ohio in peril.

From the point of view of a native Ohioan Lake Erie is a precious resource that should be protected and preserved. It is too important for federal government interference. If our state legislators lack the will to tackle the lake’s problems without federal intervention, the resource will eventually be lost to the state, the neighboring states and the region. The federal government will either make the situation worse or assume total control of Lake Erie and eventually the other four Great Lakes plus Lake St. Clair. The State of Ohio must stand firm, defend and restore Lake Erie. It’s a civic duty and a constitutional necessity. We are already drowning in a sea of big federal government statism. We do not need to watch our lake go underwater as well. It is time for the private sector interests who are stakeholders in the lake such as the shipping industry, the recreational businesses and agriculture to band together for solutions. In addition the private sector entities should insist on state action and resist any federal involvement. The attitude that the federal government will come to the rescue is mistaken and costly.

Comment:  cearlwriting@hotmail.com

www.littlestuff-minoosha.blogspot.com

Tue. & Wed., 1370 WSPD, Toledo   www.wspd.com

   

The Camel's New Quarters

The camel has moved so far into the tent that he is poisoning the air with his flatulent methane. Government encroachment on every aspect of our lives has progressed from a disturbing possibility to an alarming probability. Aside from the pending healthcare debacle, the latest assault on our freedom comes from the E.P.A., the Environmental Protection Agency…or is that the Egregious Policy Adopters? So, their mission is to protect the environment, but they stink it up instead…big time. They’ve threatened the Congress (something that I would like to do from time to time) that if our dearly beloved elected representatives do not implement the hyper-noxious Cap and Trade (i.e. cap and tax), then the unelected bureaucrats at the agency will initiate “command and control” policies and procedures regarding carbon emissions. In other words: “If you legislators don’t do what we want, we will usurp your unique authority for law and policy and do what we want. Stick that up your ***, Congress.” Who’s in charge of this popsicle cart?

It is not unusual for bureaucrats to run amok, but this attempted blackmail is unbelievably brazen.

The next area of government overreach that I want to share with you involves our bodies of water here in the United States. I apologize that I have misplaced my research on this issue (yes, I do research), so I’ll have to wing it with more generalities that I would like. An agency of the federal government that has responsibility for navigable waterways is under consideration for a much broader scope of oversight. I do not recall if it’s the EPA, the Coast Guard, Interior or some other unelected branch of government, and I don’t remember if it’s a legislative proposal or agency rule making, but the end game is a massive increase in government power to regulate and restrict every body of water in the country. If this ominous prospect comes to fruition, then perhaps we could create a new federal agency—PPP&PS, puddles, pools, ponds and pond scum, too. I’m fortunate to have a three-quarter acre pond here on my little patch of paradise. I neither need nor want some robotic, bean-counting, pencil-pushing, civil servant geek telling me I have too many bluegills (they’re like rabbits) or catfish in my personal puddle…or that my single speckled trout is lonely. Stay away, and if you do come here, go away…NOW!

Last night (Wednesday) I had the opportunity to listen to Mark Levin for a while. He was speaking in his usual high-speed, hyperbolic mode about a sacred USDA program. Levin stated that a study had determined that up to forty per cent of the meat and chicken provided to the school lunch program by the federal government was substandard. The meat failed to qualify for Taco Bell, Arby’s or McDonalds. It was determined that a large portion of the chicken came from spent layers…old egg producers whose value had diminished. Campbell’s claimed that they stopped using spent layers more than a decade ago for their soup products. So, the same government that wants to assume control of your healthcare is knowingly providing substandard meat and chicken for daily lunches for up to 60% of U.S. school students. Isn’t that special?

This column was begun with a discussion of the camel’s moving into the tent. Don’t fret. The government (USDA) will probably incorporate the camel into the school lunch program.

As always, your comments or emails are encouraged:  cnpearl@woh.rr.com