Blowing the Buffalo Billion

Cuomo is having problems with his grand plan to buy the next election.

Yes, there are problems with the so called “Buffalo Billion.”

So bad he had to come out to Buffalo and reassure the workers that the plant, once completed, would be manufacturing solar panels. This is in spite of problems with investors and Elon Musk & Tesla Corporation's (basically) taking over the plant. After all the work is done, the taxpayers might just have this giant hulk of an empty building on their hands.

This is in spite of the promise of solar. I know several people that have solar on their houses and they are doing OK with energy generation. I even have solar on my house now. I'm proud to say that I am almost as cost efficient as nuclear energy right now with my energy production. (I look at how much I paid to have it put in & divide by the kWh generated. I'm in the realm of $16 an hour. Once you factor into nuclear the costs of building the plant – including all the cost over runs – and the fact that the actual plant owners always default on the loans, so the taxpayers have to pick up that tab – you see, no bank will loan a nuclear energy company money unless the government guarantees the loan. The 100% default rate is a turn off for them. - And the cost of storing the waste … according to economists, the cost of nuclear generated electricity is $15 - $16 a kWh. All those subsidies for what exactly? And this is saving us money? How? OK. I digress.)

So we currently have that monkey on our backs.

Add to that the Athanex debacle. Yes, Athanex might pull out of Dunkirk because of problems with Albany coughing up the taxpayer dollars to pay for their project. They are looking at Ohio now as a possible plant site. We cough up all this money and get a big empty building in a community that is hurting for jobs.

Here's a key point: There is no proof that tax breaks help the economy any or create jobs. None. Companies are going to expand and do whatever is needed to make money. Consolidating their business and manufacturing makes financial sense. All tax breaks do is pass the costs of doing business onto the taxpayer. There is no real benefit to the taxpayer.

Ting about it – For ten years we are footing the bill for the corporations making millions. And what are we going to get in return? Honestly not much. If workers do not have the necessary degree or experience to be hired into these jobs, they are out of luck. Just like the Buffalo Niagara Medical Corridor. Pretty much all those jobs are going to workers from outside the area. Net gain for the average unemployed worker? Zero. No degree? No job. It's that simple.

And the corporation is getting away with no state taxes, no local taxes, or school taxes. We pick up the tab with higher taxes on our income and property.

I'm having a hard time finding a win here for the taxpayer.

In other countries where they set up special economic zones for corporations the workers get screwed over with crappy wages and no benefits. Why do we want to experiment with that mess?

And yet Cuomo is doing it in spite of the fact that there is no proof that it benefits we the taxpayers in any way.

So here we are with two monkeys on our backs and Cuomo running around all over the place trying to make his signature re-election program work and look good.

At least he is getting his 10,000 steps in a day.

We're getting our arms twisted, our wallets wrenched, and generally getting screwed over.

Not my idea of an exercise program.

Ethanol Bad 4 the Climate

Nice OP-Ed in the Buffalo News today. Ethanol is worse for climate change than gasoline.

Thanks for the update.

After all, first it requires farmers to grow the corn and they usually do that with chemical pesticides and fertilizers that contaminate the water supply. And these wonderful modern marvels are sprayed on the ground with farm tractors that spew large amounts of exhaust. (Read pollution.)

And let's remember – the gasoline, oil, and chemical pesticides all come from oil wells and gas wells that also contaminate the atmosphere (and surrounding land and water).

Add to that the very fuel inefficient combines that harvest the corn and then the diesel trucks that transport the corn to market. I still don't buy the “clean diesel” argument. Low sulfur is one thing. There's still that exhaust problem.

And then the processing of the ethanol. Look for a smokestack or two.

Finally we have the ethanol made up and mixed up. The only way to get the ethanol to market is by … wait for it … tractor trailer. It can't be sent by pipeline. Not that we need any of those hazards in our backyards. Look at what happened in Michigan, Arkansas, and the ever infamous Alaska pipeline. My brother worked on the pipeline. We ask if he ever saw any spills. Because of his employer, he can't say. But he chuckles about it. Read what you want into that.

We were sold a bill of goods with ethanol. President (sick) GW Bush was looking for the mid west farm vote and ethanol was an easy sell. It raised the price of corn and helped them make ends meet for a short bit. Then the corn glut hit and they lost money. Add to that the mid west drought and you have a ton of people in a pickle.

To top it off, environmental groups jumped in on the charade thinking that this would help with climate change. It did help. It sped it up. All those extra carbon emissions sure helped the cause and caused them to look like fools.

One more thing – all that corn is subsidized by our taxes. So there is a hidden cost that I am still looking to see how much it raises the price of ethanol by. After all, this was sold to us as a way to reduce the price of fuel and here we have this hidden cost. How much does the subsidy raise the cost compared to straight up gasoline?

To boot: Most of the cars on the road at the time were not made to run on ethanol. So we had crappier gas mileage. That made us fill up more.

Add to this all the damage caused to engines that were running on ethanol. Yes, I have heard countless mechanics talking about all the engine problems that are caused by cars running on ethanol when they were made to run on gas. As a “for instance” I have had to clean the carburetor on my lawn mower every year because of the “crappy gas.” There are now gas stations selling real gas and it runs so much better. And my snow thrower runs better on real gas too.

We have all these costs associated with ethanol – the climate damage as well as the damage to our wallets. 

And we are still using this product because … ?

An answer please. 

Inquiring minds want to know.

Out. Back. Here.

I have been out all week.

Burned out.

I have returned to work and each day I am wondering whether I belong there.

As a result, I come home exhausted and less able to hash out my thoughts and post anything.

There are many important things going on that we need to be working on.

The DAPL Pipeline and the Northern Access Pipeline. Both are the same struggle. Just different locations.

The privatization of education in Buffalo, Rochester, and urban areas across our country. (Search for “Public School Shakedown” for more on this.)

The Buffalo Billion Dollar Blowout with the debacles at Solar City and Athanex in Dunkirk. Cuomo wants to use these as election campaign points.

Bill Nojay committed suicide because of an investigation into possible criminal business dealings.

And the election. The race between Trump and Clinton is a comedy of errors and all I can do is shake my head in total disbelief.

And so much more.

We need to get like minded socialists in WNY together to work for change in our communities. Buffalo is not Dunkirk is not Niagara Falls is not Salamanca is not (the name of your community here).

Let's start organizing, getting together, and forming groups that can and will work together for the common good of all and bringing real change to our area.

Revolution is not about the one person or personality – It's about the many coming together.

The people.

We the People.

So let's start getting together and build something better.

If you are interested or curious about Socialist Action or socialism in general, email me.

Wandering thoughts on 9/11

There's an old story – it has many traditions and origins – but they are all very similar.

A man is getting ready to cross a river when he sees a poisonous snake. The snake begs the man to take him (the snake) across. The man agrees on the condition that the snake not bite him, lest he die. And the snake agrees.

The next part is where the difference comes in. Either the snake bites the man half way across the river or on the other side. In any event, the man dies of the bite.

The stories rejoin after the bite – the man asks the snake how it could bite him. After all, the snake gave the man his word.

The snake's reply is telling: The man knew what the snake was when he picked it up.

And so, 15 years ago today, we felt the snake bite.

Al Qaeda has its origins in the 1970's when Islamic fundamentalists were waging war against the democratically elected socialist government of Afghanistan. They needed help and training. Saudi Arabia was willing to provide the money. Pakistan was willing to provide the place to train them. The USA agreed to train them. They were called freedom fighters because they were fighting against the Soviet Union's military which was invited in to fight against al Qaeda.

A little historical note – Osama bin Laden did not like the USA either. He used another proverb. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. So the USA and al Qaeda were allies. At least for a while.

A common enemy does not make an ally. After the enemy is vanquished, what stops the one from attacking the other?

And after the debacle in Afghanistan, al Qaeda began biting the USA. Attacks against US consulates and the USS Cole showed that they had no problems biting the hand that fed them. They were perfectly fine doing it. Wherever and whenever they could.

And then 9/11 happened and everyone went “WTF?” and wondered how it happened.

Religious fundamentalists went off on a tangent to blame homosexuals and others that they deemed immoral as the reason for the attack. Interesting that the 9/11 attackers share many of the same ideas as the religious fundamentalists in this country.

A few historians did some digging and provided the history of al Qaeda and how the US helped create this monster. They were largely ignored by the war party and media.

I remember seeing a story on Link TV about how money from the CIA that went to the Pakistani ISI (their version of the CIA) was funneled to al Qaeda. If this is true, our own tax dollars were used to fund the 9/11 attacks. I'd love to find the video. I think it was done by Greg Palast.

And then came the wars. We are aware of Afghanistan and Iraq – two debacles that we are still fighting to this day. No, we have not won either one. They are this generation's Vietnams. Unlike Vietnam, I sincerely doubt that a stable strong central government, or any government, will form in these countries. Iraq has a better chance of making it – but how long will it take? And will it be a people's government or one run by the wealthy and comprador elite? People willing to hand over Iraq's natural resources and manufacturing to foreign powers? Basically people that are willing to sell their souls to the devil.

But those wars solved nothing. Like the head of the mythical Hydra, every time a head was cut off, two sprang up. So al Qaeda spread back into Pakistan. And into other countries that the US stuck its nose into: Libya Somalia. They are having a field day (of sorts) in Syria. I wouldn't be surprised if they show up in Yemen. All places that the US and its allies are trying to crush democracy or overthrow leaders that they do not like. (Qadafi was not the greatest leader in the world. Who was going to replace him after he fell? The US & its allies had a plan to win the war. They had no plan to win the peace.)

So here we are 15 years later. And the world is no better off after all this war. If anything, things are worse because people are getting sick of the US and its constant beating of the drums of war and use of 9/11 as a crutch. And terrorists are still attacking people all over the world.

The sympathy for the deadliest terrorists attacks in the history of the world has been wasted on wars that have made the world so much more unstable.

And here we are.

And what have we learned Charlie Brown?

Charlie Brown always tries to kick the football when Lucy holds it.

And she always pulls it away.

And so it goes.

3000 people were murdered 15 years ago because of something their government did.

They were innocent victims.

And while we want to blame al Qaeda and do, did we not help create them?

10,000+ service men and women have died for what?

These are the war casualties and then the suicides after.

The reports say approximately 20 a day commit suicide.

The numbers are dropping.

Either the care is getting better for the veterans or there are fewer veterans.

I admit this is dark.

So I won't go into the high numbers of innocent & dead civilians and children.

Today is a dark day.

And we need to look at ourselves and our country and ask what type of country do we want to be?

What type of international citizen do we want to be?

We have overthrown democratically elected governments in other nations because we did not like the policies that they were enacting. And yet we claim to be and support democracy. Read some of the non traditional histories of this country (try the People's History of … for a start) and see what the history textbooks left out. Watch Link TV, Free Speech TV, the Real News Network, Democracy NOW!, Free Speech Radio News, and so many others for news that the corporate media and US government won't cover or talk about.

Perhaps we the people can learn and do something to prevent the next event.

It starts with understanding ourselves, our country, and our own history.

And righting the wrongs we have done.

Then maybe something will be different.

Until then, what?

Kriner Cash is celebrating what exactly?

Yes, it's that time of year when students report back to school. And and the administration of the Buffalo CSD tries to make a big deal about the changes that they have made at a few schools. Namely five schools.

First: Class sizes will be smaller at the city's most struggling schools. I will respond to this in the most polite way possible. Well, duh. Research shows that smaller class sizes increases achievement. The ideal class size is 15 students per teacher. Buffalo will be aiming for 18 – 20 students per teacher. This will be down from 27-36 students in other schools.

Second: After school support and enrichment will be offered. Holy cow. How much brainstorming did it take for them to come up with that. No. Wait. Research shows this increases student achievement. Yes, with academic enrichment, support in emotional and behavioral supports for students that need them. And snacks. Yes, food for students that might not have enough at home.

Third: Thirteen schools will become “community schools” that will offer services beyond education, like access to social services. These services will include adult education, immigration and legal services (which the poor usually can't afford anyways), and voter registration. (Republicans should be outraged at that one, I wonder how long before that is challenged?) All that and the school libraries will be open longer. Gee whiz. After Erie County went on a library killing spree years ago the Buffalo schools are going to make up for the slack that the students needed. I wonder if the boneheads that slashed the public libraries realized what they were going to be doing to the community? Doubt it. I think it was Republicans that killed the libraries.

Fourth: Innovative high schools. These are high schools that are affiliated with specific college programs. Kind of like college prep schools. Or vocational schools. There's a medical program, a program that will be affiliated with Solar City (if it ever opens), computer science, a law/police program, and an international program. This is innovative because? Services like this have existed in BOCES and similar educational programs for years. The big deal is … ?

Fifth: New Technology like iPads and 1 to 1 laptop programs to make computing more available. I come from a district that is in its third year of a 1 to 1 program. It's a tool. If a student isn't going to do paper homework, they aren't going to do it on a computer. And if the student does not have Internet access at home, this is gong to help them how? And I have students that use them as glorified mp3 players, video game platforms, and social media services. Technology is a tool. I don't see it as a cure all. And I've seen it fail. I've also seen some amazing success stories. It depends on so many things.

Sixth: Multi Language Reform. Great. The school is complying with a civil right, namely the right to and education. If the student can't speak the language (namely English) they aren't going to learn. Providing a translator is the responsibility of the district. So the district is going to make a big deal about upholding a civil right and a responsibility. What ever will they thing of next?

Seventh: Hiring more Special Education teachers! (Surprise!) Yes, meeting the educational needs of special needs students is a real nice thought. It's also the law.

So the district is trying to make a big deal about doing what it is supposed to be doing in the first place.

They are celebrating this because?

Now to do something about the chronic absenteeism that some students face because they don't have a stable home life, or one consistent address to call home, or parents that are there for them because they (the parents) are working two minimum wage jobs to make ends meet in an city that is becoming more un-affordable for the poor.

I can't wait to hear what they plan to do about that.

Yes. I want to be there when Carl Paladino talks about the problems that capitalism causes.

Pardon my snarkiness in this blog post, but I don't see what the big deal is.

This is what schools should be doing in the first place.

Buffalo has been plagued by the crises that capitalism causes for years with the loss of manufacturing and other good paying jobs that have been sent to wherever labor is the cheapest.

And the students in Buffalo and WNY have been suffering from the failures of capitalism.

It's time for capitalism to pay for the crises that it has caused in so many peoples' lives.

Sadly, capitalism's solution to the educational crisis that it has made is charter schools.

We need to fight to prevent any more from coming into Buffalo and WNY.

---

And I'm afraid to move my computer because my cats are all chilling out listening to Duane Eddy. I'm playing it on the CD drive. Even the wacky little kitten is chilling out.

I am being oppressed by cats.

I may have to write up the Catmunist Manifesto in order to liberate myself from this tyranny of cats.

Labor Day

Today (September 5)is Labor Day. It's always the first Monday in September and we are always reminded that it signals the end of summer, the beginning of school, and god forbid if I see a Christmas decoration or sale any time soon. Someone will find out (on a permanent basis) whether God is real or not. And I will probably become a part of the Prison Radio Project. (Listen to their reports if you get a chance. They are very insightful.)

Back to today: It is Labor Day. Key word being “Labor.” This is supposed to be a celebration of the working class.

We have it today because the capitalists that control the US government wanted to try to break up the international character of the working class. The internationalist working class celebrates its version of Labor Day on May 1^st. Always and every year. There are groups that have parades and protests in the USA on May 1^st, but it is largely ignored by the capitalist controlled media. They want to keep the US working class out of the international nature of the working class movement. It's the old “divide and conquer” routine. Blame the workers in Mexico for the loss of jobs in US manufacturing instead of blaming the capitalists for undermining workplace safety in Mexico and then moving their factories there. Same goes for Central and South America, China, Indonesia, Africa, you name it. Wherever the capitalists move the jobs so that they can rake in a maximum profit and screw people (and the planet) over.

This is also a war on unions. When unions are strong, the working class is strong. So you will always see the capitalists working to undermine unions and the right to organize any way they can. We need to remember what unions have won for all of us in the working class:

Like the 5 day work week? It used to be 6 days.

Like the 40 hour work week? It used to be a whole ton longer. It used to be 14 – 16 hours a day. 6 days a week.

Like overtime? That's time and a half for all work over 40 hours in a week or over 8 hours in an shift (if you have that in your union negotiated contract). I believe we received that during the Great Depression because of union activism.

Like minimum wage? (Yes, I know it stinks with how low it is and with all the profits the working class makes possible it should be over $20 an hour.) Capitalists would like to abolish it altogether and drive wages lower. (So wouldn't the Libertarians, but that is another article for another day.)

Like paid vacations? Guess who fought for that? No the big boss man up in corporate.

Who fought for health insurance, retirement benefits, paid vacations, paid sick days, personal days, time and a half on holidays? I'll give you some hints: 5 letters. 3 vowels. 2 consonants. The 2 consonants are the same.

And then there are those other things that we can be happy are gone: child labor for instance. And thank the heavens for that. Sad to say in other countries, particularly in the third world, this is no the case.

And there are those things that we need to improve on: Women make less than men even though they work just as hard and are just as capable. Over time they earn (on the average) $0,79 for every dollar men make. I've heard scary statistics that make it worse for Asian, Hispanic, and African American women. We need to fix this: equal pay for equal work.

We have come so far and the capitalists are fighting every day in the halls of power to undermine what we have won.

We demand:

-Equal Pay for Equal Work: Men, Women, & LGBTQ all earn the same pay.

-A 30 hour work week with no cut in pay. The modern workforce is more productive than ever. And we are producing too much anyways that is sitting on the shelf. Cuts in production will actually save costs rather than increase them.

-$15 NOW and index it to inflation. We can pay for this with cuts to the corporate class that make way too much money for the pittance of work that they actually do. A 50% pay cut for the CEO, board of Directors, Presidents, and Vice-Presidents would more than cover the costs of paying for this increase in the pay of the people that make the profits possible. And give everyone the same health care and retirement. (Read the previous sentence for how to pay for it.)

-The right to a union. Capitalists can band together. Why can't we?

-Automatic overtime pay for Sundays and Holidays.

What more would you want added to this list?

If I could summarize all this up in one word it could be any of the following.

Respect.

Fairness.

What would you add to this list?

Either the demands or the summary?

Stolen Elections

So I'm catching up on the world and there's a buzz about the Russians supposedly being able to hack our nicely modernized computer voting machines and be able to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.

I find it interesting that anytime anything “threatens” American “democracy” we always find either the Russians or the Chinese as the scapegoats.

So Trump is making this a big issue – that the election could be hacked.

Go read the reporting and work of Greg Palast. He'll show you how it is done. Legally. Here in the USA. By Americans.

Start with the book “Rat F**cked.” In it the author spells out how the Republicans worked to be able to seize power in DC even though they have fewer registered voters than the Democrats. They worked on the state level. They won state houses and when the census was done, they were in power to be able to gerrymander districts so that the few would have more power than the many.

So in states like North Carolina blacks would be crunched into these hideously shaped districts and whites would be able to keep control over the state legislature. This happened in 29 states I believe. 29 states where the popular will was subverted by an elitist minority.

Add to that the work of Greg Palast, who has investigated real voter fraud – the government, mostly in Republican controlled states, working to defraud African Americans, Hispanics, women, and the poor the ability to vote.

How you ask?

First: By changing voter registration laws. Now picture ID, bills, etc are needed in order to register to vote. And if you don't have picture ID, well, that's a Catch-22 because you pretty much need picture ID in order to get picture ID. When I went for a non-driver's license I used my college picture ID as proof. Most people don't have even that.

And same day registration for voting? Getting to be more scarce than an iceberg off the coast of Greenland. Or a glacier in Glacier National Park. Now people have to register months in advance. In order to vote in the NY Primary you had to be a member of a party back in November of 2015. This is the insanity of our system

Second: People without ID can vote, but with a “provisional ballot.” Basically they have a certain number of days to provide adequate ID or the vote goes in the garbage. So if a voter ID can be challenged by an election monitor…

Third: This happened in Illinois. The Attorney General (or equivalent post) sent out fliers with “Do Not Forward” stamped on them that had information on the upcoming election. So people, like active duty servicemen and women that have their mail forwarded, would become disenfranchised because they did not receive a special flier that had election information on it. The AG (or Illinois Secretary of State. I really need to dig this up) then had all ballots that were mailed in declined as eligible to be counted. Also, people that changed districts were challenged at the polls as well. So either no vote or a provisional ballot. Basically, no vote.

Third: Go to Arizona in 2016 for a moder example of this. Voters waited in line for 5 hours before being able to vote. There are people that do not have the luxury of 5 extra hours in their day because of work, children, etc. In the 2012 election, lines in Missouri kept people waiting between 9 to 12 hours. And the polls didn't even open on time. They opened 3 hours late because the poll workers had problems getting to the poll site, getting the machines set up, and other work that they had to do. That would never stand in the Berkshires.

Contrast: In 2102 if I took 15 minutes to vote where I live, I'm lucky. That includes me walking from my car into the polling place, signing in, receiving my ballot and marking it up, waiting to submit it, and walking back to my car. Seriously.

Fourth: Early Voting. Some states, to increase voter participation (a noble idea in a democratic society), allow voting for up to 2 weeks before election day. There are polls open on Sunday and Saturday, extended hours – anything to get people into the polls. And then the Republicans seized power in those states and boy did things changed. Early voting was hacked down to several hours a day and in some places less than a week. So much for making it easier for people to vote.

Fifth: And this outdoes the Clinton private server scandal – Private companies handle the vote tabulation and guess what party they favor? It is strongly suspected by Greg Palast and other investigative reporters that the Ohio vote in 2004 was hacked in this manner.

Sixth: There are too many people that have shown that they can hack the computerized systems that do not use a paper ballot. Where I live we use a paper ballot that is scanned in. Recount? Easily done. Rescan the ballots. What if you use a touchscreen? And paper trail? No paper trail opens the door for fraud. And it is in Republican controlled states that have the paperless voting systems.

Seven: People denied the right to vote because of criminal activity. People in prison can not vote. And in some states, if you commit certain crimes, after serving prison time, you lose the right to vote. (I believe this is called “taxation without representation.”) This disproportionately affectts African Americans and Hispanic populations,

And who gets disenfranchised by all these actions? African Americans, Hispanic, Asians and other immigrant communities, women, and the poor.

This happens in this (supposedly) great country of ours.

Socialists demand better than this.

We demand:

1. Automatic voter registration at 18 with state issued voter ID that can be used in place of a drivers license. And with today's Internet enabled world, checking addresses and personal information can be done easily with a quick click. And if a voter is in the wrong district for voting? See below.

2. An end to gerrymandered districts – proportional representation should be used instead. If a party receives 5% or more in an election they receive representation in the state government. European countries use this and it works quite well.

3. The use of paper ballots so that election results can be double checked. And there is no need to use private companies to tabulate voting. Servers can be set up to handle this that are controlled by the government and audited by the Department of Justice.

4. Voting rights for all citizens whether they are in prison or free.

5. Two weeks of voting across the USA. The first day of voting is the standard calendar driven Election Day. We can wait for results. Other countries do.

This is America. We are getting less and less democratic in each election.

We need to stand up and fight now for a better way or we will degenerate into a system worse than what we have now.

Clinton vs Trump. I can't see how it could get much worse. But it can.