This is Normal? Why?

“This is normal.” Those were the words of an official of the water authority regarding the twelve breaks that have happened in Erie County so far this year. Normal? In whose world?

This is not called “normal.” Citizens need to be calling this unacceptable. Wholly, totally, and completely unacceptable. Especially since the most recent break was outside Mercy Hospital.

And the reason these water breaks are happening? Because of the volume of water being pumped through the aging and decrepit pipes. How old? Some are in the realm of a century from what I have been told. Others that are blowing out are in the realm of fifty years old.

Why is all this water being pumped? Because of the drought that we are in. It has been hot and dry in Western New York, Just ask any farmer about their crops. I wouldn't spend too much money this summer because food prices are going to go up because of the drought we are in. Before this morning's rain we were 7.78” below average for rainfall. Almost ¾ of a foot down.

What is causing this drought? Man made climate change. We need to face the facts: The drought we are suffering from we inflicted on ourselves because of our addiction to carbon based fuels. (And for those nuclear nuts out there – fuel systems that are dependent upon carbon based fuels. Look it up. You will be amazed on how much oil, gas, and other petrochemicals go into the production of nuclear energy.)

In simple terms – We are doing this to ourselves. The last time the planet heated up like this scientists say it took over ten thousand years. We human beings have done it in two hundred. To quote Pogo, “We have met the enemy and he is us.”

So, how do we solve this? Contrary to what the government will tell us, we have the money to fix all the aging infrastructure. It's all tied up in unnecessary foreign aid – our taxes going to take care of the needs of other countries – and useless military weapons systems, like the F-35 (that can't fly in combat) and the littoral combat ship that has a host of problems that I won't even go into here because it would take too long. Safe to say, according to critics, a low yield high explosive missile that hits one would put it out of service. How many millions of dollars for a ship that can be put out of action with less damage than a WWII destroyer?

First: socialists demand an end to all foreign aid – military and otherwise. Humanitarian aid can be sent on a case by case basis only through the UN.

Second: An end to all military weapons spending and the cancellation of Obama's $1 trillion nuclear weapons systems upgrade.

What will not be canceled are services like the VA that are necessary to take care of our service men and women. Any time there are cuts, the cuts are almost exclusive to the needs of service personnel. Socialists say no to this – Two mass shootings in the last month were committed by servicemen that needed counseling after serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Had that counseling been available, would we be mourning the loss of lives in Dallas and Baton Rouge? Then again, how many police officers have served in the military and are responsible for gunning down African Americans and Hispanics? Did they need counseling after discharge?

All this money will go to the rebuilding of American infrastructure – from water mains to roads, bridges, schools, hospitals, and public libraries. Things that make this country safe and work on a day by day basis.

Furthermore – we need to address climate change or we are doing nothing more than throwing a brick in the Mississippi River thinking that will stop it from flowing.

Third: Socialists demand that all energy production and distribution be nationalized and run for the needs of the people and not Wall Street. Our energy bills would be cut by half, if not more in some cases. (Rochester Gas and Electric rates would be cut by 66%. Buffalo would see their rates drop by 50%. Other localities would see similar drops.)

Fourth: Socialists demand the immediate transition to true green energy – solar, wind, geothermal, and water turbines. Workers unemployed from the polluting hydrocarbon based systems will be retrained and put to work in setting up and maintaining this new green grid. There will be an increase in jobs because of how fast this work needs to be done. A Great Depression Era jobs creation program for the energy sector alone would wipe out a large chunk of the unemployed.

Furthermore – We need to alleviate the effects of this drought on farmers. They are suffering greatly because of Wall Street and corporate greed.

Fifth: All loans given to farmers by the government or by private institutions are to be made 0% interest, or below 1% with no late fees or penalties assessed if economic hardship can be proved.

Sixth: For the mid western states – Rather than see all that water on the Mississippi River either be pushed backwards and produce flooding in Minnesota and other states that feed into the river, build a series of irrigation canals that takes the water to farms that are in need of water because of the drought. Again, tons of jobs here building and maintaining this irrigation system. And we wouldn't be feeding all the agricultural runoff into the Gulf Dead Zone. Instead it would be going to fertilize farms and (purified) provide water for drought stricken communities.

Seventh: We need to ban the use of cancer causing chemical contaminants – like Roundup™ and Atrazine™, among so many others - which cause damage to the environment.

A socialists, and any generally decent person, knows that there are many issues related to this drought than we are suffering through. There are many causes and many solutions, some of which I have listed here.

The longer we wait to start the work solving these problems, the longer we suffer.