Cap the Pipelines

National Fuel wants to build a pipeline to transport faced gas from Pennsylvania to Canada.

So much for making the USA energy independent.
It was never about that though - it's about making money.

And the media in Buffalo is not really talking about the pipeline in the south that exploded, killed 1 worker, and injured 5 others.

We could talk about the pipeline that ruptured in Pennsylvania during that last deluge of rain.
55,000 gallons of oil (I believe) spilled out.

Then there' s the Kalamazoo spill that  contaminated a river in Michigan.
And the pipeline rupture in Arkansas that had oil flowing down a street like a strong stream.
It might as well have been a river.

And does National Fuel have a plan to clean up their mess when the pipeline breaks?
And who will pay the cleanup costs?

National Fuel wants a rate increase,  which some say is to cover the cost of shipping the fracked gas to Canada.

Socialists say NO to the Northern Access Pipeline.
National Grid needs to focus on renewable energy instead.

Get the lead out

We now know that there are schools in the region that have high lead levels.

Most of them are in Buffalo and will take money that the district does not have to fix. 

The suburban schools will easily (more) come up with the money to address their problems,  but  Buffalo can not afford to fix all the issues at once.  And consider how long the problem has been going on,  there may be no fix for the  health problems that students will (and are) suffering from.

We are aware of this problem because of the crisis in Detroit with its lead problem.

The Democrats and Republicans blame each other for that crisis.  No one wants to talk about the collapse of the stock market and how Detroit lost millions of dollars on the market due to the crash in 2007.

Neither party wants to talk about the corporations that closed their shops and sent the jobs overseas to countries where tey can basically practice slave labor.

The entire lead crisis is a crisis of capitalism. 
No one is willing to say that.

And what happened to Detroit happened to Buffalo with the white flight of the 1970's.

Except NY was willing to bribe corporations to move to Buffalo and WNY.  (The Buffalo Billion,  which has problems of its own now.)

So Buffalo is leading WNY in lead.
I think they'd rather lead in something else.

Accidental holding

The Erie County Holding Center is under investigation (again) for violence against an inmate. 

I say again because of an incident in 2012 that led to the death of an inmate - Richard Metcalf - whose death is "apparently" tied to mistreatment by deputies in the Holding g Center. I personally fail to see how suffocating someone with a pillowcase and beating him while denying ambulance crews the ability to provide medical care is an accident.

Now the Holding Center is under investigation for the beating of Carl M Miller by another inmate.  This after he requested to be moved away from another inmate that was harassing him. The request to be moved was apparently made evident to his family as well.

So not moving the inmate was an accident.

My faith in the ability of the Holding Center to properly take care of inmates gets lower every year.

There are inmates that need to be held because of the heinous crimes that they have committed.  Others could better be served with medical facilities because of their condition.

Either way,  the staff at the Holding Center need to be held accountable for the injuries and deaths that occurred under their care.

Socialists demand that a full investigation be held and all results made public.

Furthermore, those reponsible for the injuries (or not moving the inmate whose life was in danger) need to be held accountable for their actions and inactions.

We need cameras to provide proper surveillance for the safety of the inmates and the staff.

Yes,  the people in the Holding Center may be there because they committed a crime.
That does not mean they should become victims themselves.

Capitalists rank their generosity

Wegman's is the hot spot to work in according to the capitalist rag sheet Fortune magazine.

Better than average wages,  time and a half pay for part time employees, extra holiday pay,  and flexible scheduling. 

I am told that their employees have access to health insurance and college scholarships as well.

I'm typing this up offline,  but when I lived in Buffalo,  there were no close or convenient Wegman's stores.  The only stores I remember are in the suburbs and not easy to get to.  So these nice paying jobs are not necessarily available to the urban poor.  The people who could benefit from them the most.

Even where I live now,  the closest Wegman's is an hour away in Geneseo.  Not convenient.

So the "best jobs" and workplace for the unskilled or low skilled working class are  out of their reach.

How convenient.

And praiseworthy evidently.

Trying to figure out the time

I haven't posted in a while because the responsibilities of work and managing property is that much.

It's not to say that revolution isn't important or that there aren't things going on in the news that need commenting on.

I'm overwhelmed and can't function on 4 hours of sleep a day.

I will figure this out.
Perhaps shorter commentaries or something .

I would like others to join in this endeavor.
Write on you passion.

Life goes on.
Revolutionaries needed.

Lunch break over.

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.

Open the Debates

As we close in on September, we inch closer to those pathetic drawn out scripted conversations that pose as presidential debates in the good old USA.

On those nights I don't need to take any sleeping medication or eat turkey. I turn on the debate and yawn away.

The Libertarian Party candidate, Gary Johnson, is fighting for the opportunity to get in the 2016 debates. Last time we had three people in the debates was in the 1992 election when H Ross Perot stuck his nose in and out of the race. We got Bill Clinton that year, sad to say.Yes,  the least unpopular candidate won.  Democracy lost.

The Federal Commission on debates has a rule that a candidate must poll at 15% nationally in order to get in the debates.

So, how do you poll at 15% when you have a corporate owned and controlled media that won't cover you?

In a positive note, at least the Libertarian and Green Party candidates are getting some minor coverage in the corporate press. I might see them mentioned at least once a week.

And so it goes, we get this pathetic form of circular logic that keeps the debates limited, emasculated, and boring.

So, how should debate participation be determined? That is simple and easier than making a PB and J sandwich. (OK. I've seen that messed up.  I asked for grape jelly and they gave me strawberry.  I'm allergic to strawberries.)

The rule is very simple: Is the candidate on enough state ballots for a Constitutional Convention. (I believe the number is either 34 or 38.) Got 38? In the debate. It's that easy.

That would open the debates up immensely. In the 2012 election season we would have seen the Libertarian, Constitution, and Green Party candidates squaring off. I believe that in 2012 the Socialist Party USA would have been in the mix as well.

Let's face the facts: The debates are the least democratic part of this whole charade that we go through. And in this current election season, people are clamouring for something different than the same old same old.

We need to force a change of the rules so that we have more democratic debates.

And BTW: By getting more parties in the debates, we force the capitalist press to cover more parties than the Democrats and Republicans.

Who knows, given the popularity of socialism among the 18-30 and under 49 crowd, we might just get a socialist in the mix. Can you picture the corporate media trying to cover a socialist that tells them constantly that they are getting socialism all wrong? Or that Clinton is a capitalist and not a socialist?

Who knows, people might just watch the debates. And vote even.

But maybe that's the whole purpose of the debates – to turn people off so they don't vote.

But then we have to ask the press, what is its purpose? To inform and educate the voters or to help maintain a two party (actually 1 class – capitalist) dictatorship?

That's not very democratic to me.

Socialists demand: Open the debates!

On 38, you get in the debate.

It's that easy.

Battling the Bomb Trains

So Buffalo and the rest of WNY are battling the “Bomb Trains” as they are being called.

They are also being referred to as a“Mobile Chernobyl,” after the devastating accident that happened back in the 1980's.

And the only politician in DC fighting for us in WNY is Representative Brian Higgins.

And I hate to blow sunshine at a representative of the capitalist elite, but he is all that is between WNY and a nuclear disaster.

For those not in the know, the Department of Energy wants to transport highly radioactive nuclear waste from Canada, across the Peace Bridge, through highly populated areas of Buffalo (look at a map of the rail lines. Where else are they going to go?) And down to South Carolina for the next stage in processing before they are put into storage. SC has no ability to render the waste non-toxic in any way. If they did, nuclear energy would not be as deadly as it is today.  Nor would it be an issue or an environmental hazard.

In any event, Higgins has dragged two other pieces of the Federal government into this battle for survival – the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Homeland Security.

The EPA should be involved. If any sort of spill happens, they will be charged with cleaning it up. Be it nuclear waste from processing fuel rods for a nuclear reactor, the radioactive medical waste (I've heard plenty about this on Project Censored. Look for their podcasts on nuclear power and Fukushima.), or the weapons grade waste that the DOE wants to ship across WNY. Any sort of mishap that results in a spill will be more than an inconvenience for the people that are around the area.

And if a spill happens around water, like the Genessee River, the Buffalo River, or any waterway that feeds into the Great Lakes … the fecal matter will more than strike the ceiling based air circulation system.

Then there is the Department of Homeland Security, (They are so successful at what they do. They have caught every terrorist that they instigated and entrapped. Please note the sarcasm in that line.) If anyone is interested in making a problem for the US, these very publicized shipments would be an easy way to make a mark.

And what type of security is going to be around these shipments? And how are the bridges going to be secured? And about driving nuclear waste down the NYS Thruway at 65 MPH? Is that really a good idea? Yes, some of the travel will be by rail and others by truck. I am not feeling very safe or confident at this point in any of the plans.

And the Sierra Club-Niagara Branch has been active in this fight too. They started it. (Actually the DOE started it by not taking any sort of serious consideration of danger into their thought process.)And they look to keep fighting it until the trains are stopped.

So, will we face a nuclear disaster?

My hope is that we won't.

The only way to prevent a nuclear disaster is to not make one possible in the first place. And that would mean shutting down the nuclear reactors and getting rid of nuclear weapons.

That alone would save us millions of dollars and millions of lives.

Remember – It's easier to prevent a problem than to fix up the problems after the fact.

Let's prevent this one.

College Football Questions

The Buffalo News had its big college football preview today. (Sunday August 28 2106)

Nothing of any importance to me or others concerned about higher education  was discussed.

I want to know:

How much are the coaches being paid? Versus professors (all types), and the administration? 

They play 12 games. Divide their salary by twelve & that's way too much for a part time position.

They should be making less than $15,000 a year. Let;s face the facts – football is a one semester sport. It starts in August and ends in January. Done. If they want to make more, they should teach as well.

How much do the stadiums or football fields cost? And why do we have how many? Does this money come out of ticket sales or is student tuition paying for it? Perhaps the college is lucky and there is some corporate sponsorship.

Doubt it. Nobody locally is that good. Or ever will be.

And UB's stadium was built for the Empire State Games back in the 1990's and has it been used for them ever again? So our taxes paid for an ugly underused eyesore.

How many football players complete a degree? And do they graduate on time? How many drop out and never see higher education again? How many of they receive loans from the state or federal government? How many default on those loans? Or received scholarships and dropped out?

How many of the courses that the colleges offer are taught by adjunct professors that might be back the next year? Might not.

How many departments and programs have been cut over the years while sports budgets have increased?

How many of these colleges have libraries that are available and open when the students need them? And staffed with full time librarians at that? Add to that have the appropriate professional journals and up to date books available?

I can go on and I'm sure you could add to this list.

The fact of the matter is that colleges are wasting precious and precarious resources on entertainment.

Is that what they are there for?

So, should their motto be: Keep the students happy, entertained,  and stupid?

And broke.

Housing Improving? Really?

The Buffalo news media is making a big deal about the housing market as of late. Their big deal? That the market is “improving.”

Let's put this into everyday English instead of business speak.

“Improving” means that the price of a house (and apartment) in Buffalo and the surrounding areas is going up. The prices are rising.

This is good for the landlords, banks, realtors – people that will make money off of the rising prices.

For the middle class and below – this blows. It means that they will be paying more for the same old thing. Rent for apartments will go up, squeezing more money out of the pockets of people that can barely afford to live in them. For those looking to buy, the x bedroom, y bath house will see an increase in price.

Key point: Nothing has changed except the price. It's the same old chunk of whatever.

How is this good for those in need?

And the Buffalo News is always blowing sunshine about newly proposed renovations of old factories and stores into apartments. These, of course, will be high priced as well.

The real crappy part of the renovated factories and stores? They were empty until the taxpayers coughed up money for the developer to do work on the property. Basically the developers were bribed to renovate the properties into something.

Of course the media won't tell it this way. They will report it as a “tax break.”

And what do we the tax payers receive from having all those properties off the tax rolls for a certain number of years?

The school budget is determined by property tax. And these properties are exempted from school tax or it is put on our backs and taken out of our wallets.

Cities and counties are denied property tax on those properties – and those will come out of our pockets as well.

The state will also be denied income from these properties. Guess where that money comes from?

Got a good chiropractor? All those taxes on your back have to be killing you.

The more I shell out in taxes that are used to bribe capitalists to do what they say they can do best is killing my ability to support the local economy. I imagine it is getting difficult for others as well as we all pay for this corporate welfare and welfare for the 1%.

So the housing market is “improving.” For whom and in what way? 

Not me.

Racism on the Sports Page

Nice banner on the Buffalo News today. (August 25 2016.)

Athlete #1: Male. White.

Athlete #2: Female. Blonde. White.

Athlete #3: Female. Asian,

Athlete #4: Male. White.

Athlete #5: Female. Blonde. White.

Don't go inside to the Sports Section. It's as segregated as the front page. And the gymnast doing the cutesy pose is rather nauseating. (My friends daughter is a dancer and DON'T ask her to do a cutesy pose. She is mute and every photographer understands the sign language she demonstrates without an interpreter. Some signs are pretty well universal. I digress.)

What percentage of athletes in Erie County and Niagara County are African American?

And the News couldn't put at least ONE on the banner?

I'll probably have to wait until September 1^st when they cover football.

But looking at the feature article on WNY sports and pretty much all the teams are from …. the suburbs and elite prep schools. A few rural schools are mentioned. Overall, it's a rich white man's (and women's) sports world.

What about the Buffalo and Niagara Falls sports teams that also have soccer, golf, volleyball, and whatever else passes for expensive after school babysitting?

I'll admit that I don't like sports. My library budget took a major cut this year but the sports teams took an increase. You see, the baseball teams needed new bats. It's called go to the local community stores and business owners and get them to donate and cover the costs.

That is, if they can afford it. Hiring workers that can't read at an appropriate level hurts the bottom line. It's equally expensive for parents when their children go to college and take the entrance/placement exams and have to take remedial Language Arts and Math classes because their children are not scoring at a high enough level.

I digress. Again.

Buffalo has a large population of African Americans and to see all these rich white (and 1 Asian) teens being set up as paragons of athleticism is rather insulting. To be fair, football is not being covered in this issue, Buffalo schools (and pretty much every school) has these teams, and African Americans do participate at higher rates in football.

Or is this just another way to rub the lack of funding that Buffalo and Niagara Falls has in their school systems? I will leave out the rural schools that also struggle with funding as well.

A side note: As much as we decry racism against the African American community, my friend pointed out that it is always OK to bust on the poor whites and people that live in the country. (Look at the demographics for the Trump supporters.) I have no term or phrase to describe this phenomenon. Yet these people would certainly benefit quite well from socialist policies. Yet they are written off. I digress. Yet again.

Suburbia and private schools can afford more than the basics and this is just another way to rub it in. The inner city has been struggling since the decline of manufacturing and the “white flight” of the 1970's. The places to which they fled are weathering the academic and athletic storm quite well. They have the clubs, sports boosters, and whatever else they need to serve their enlightened self interest. (And entertainment.)

Yet the people who would benefit greatly from extra curricular programs rarely, if ever receive them. Programs that would interest students and encourage them to stay in school.

Now I often rat out sports as being unnecessary and a waste of money. Especially for cash strapped school districts that are cutting teachers and services. But this article just took the cake for me and I felt I needed to say something about this.

It's like a covert form of racism. See what we have and you can't because you are inner city and poor?

Class-ist as well. Rich people deserve some things and everyone else, just watches and dreams.

Never mind who made the profits possible that the rich people are living on.

I've jumped around quite a bit on this and I'm just going to stop it here before I blow another gasket.

Probably not my greatest blog. But still. Something had to be said.

Random thoughts.

A brain dump of random thoughts bouncing through my head.

The joys of ADD squirrel!

So I had a doctor's appointment today & on the way home I stopped at a roadside stand run by the Amish. Good people. Good food grown without chemicals and at a reasonable price. What I paid $13 for would have cost me much more at the store and how much of it would have gone to the farmers that grew the food? How much of the price I would have paid have gone to Wall Street? And granted, $1.50 for 6 cookies is a little steep. But look at those boxes of cookies on the store shelves and what is in them. If you can't pronounce it, should you be eating it?

---

My fried lives in Cattaraugus County. His big recent thrill was through his public library. Remember that place? That building with books that people pretty much ignore now? Except for the fact that studies show that what you read in a book stays in your brain longer than anything you read on-line or on a tablet or other device. So pick up a book and remember something. Any wonder why computers are being used in schools and why kids suck on tests? Could it be the technology?

Back to the library story – The library system that the library belongs to worked out a deal with a bunch of local museums. Sign out a pass and receive free admission to a local museum. So he went to the Seneca Museum in Salamanca. Spent a couple of hours there and really enjoyed it. Nice little place that will be expanding in the future. They are building a new museum site that will have an actual long house and potentially a small village. He can't keep quiet about this trip. There are other places he wants to go to as well. And the Seneca Museum is having a festival around Labor Day. That and a ton of fall workshops and talks. Every museum has a niche and a specialty. Stop in and see what your local museum is doing.

So, check out your local library. See what they have to offer that the news media isn't telling you about. I don't even think this is on their web site. I'll have to check. After that, I'll have to check out the book sale his library is having. They can have some real jems and at a good price too.

---

Another friend saved a kitten that was pretty much abandoned by its mother – the kitten had pneumonia. He took it to a cat shelter and paid them to nurse it back to health. He gets it tomorrow. He already has 4 cats. This makes 5. If he doesn't get the kitten fixed, he'll be broke. The kitten is male, his other cats are all female.

He received grief for saving the kitten. After all, look at all the starving children in America. Or here in WNY? His comeback is a classic: And US foreign policy during the 1990's led to the deaths of 500,000 (that's half a million) Iraqi children. This was strict US via the UN imposed controls on imports of food and medicine. We starved them to death. How do you feel about that? Boy do they walk away fast. I think they got more exercise trying to get away from him than from running off their mouths. I imagine he could extrapolate that out to Afghanistan, Iraq War II, Libya, Syria, Yemen, and the list goes on.

---

Another friend is getting into First Nations issues. The treaty rights of the First Nations peoples and the US (and Canadian) governments' willful violation and abrogation of these treaties. He has a button that he wears on his backpack “Break a Treaty – Break the Law.” People on the street seem to support it. Now if we could only get the government to. Actually the treaty isn't broken, it's only been violated. If it's broken, then the government has no obligation to abide by it. So do we need to stop talking about broken treaties and start making a stink about treaty violations?

---

I like how the Buffalo News covers the First Nations opposition to the North Dakota pipeline. Specifically the Sioux Tribes. And then tries to undermine their claims despite science that shows pipelines to be as dangerous as rail or trucks. How come we never hear about local opposition to pipelines in the first section of the newspaper?

---

Farmers markets are interesting places to go. It's nice to meet the farmers and get a better price for the food. And I see more selection, variety of things. I was driving through the south towns and ran into a small market in Franklinville. A few vendors. More hot peppers than I see at stores in Buffalo. And you can smell the hot. I saw squashes that I have never seen before. One looked like an alien octopus from a bad sci-fi flick. Evidently you boil it, saute onions in butter (which you could also buy at this market), toss them together and it is supposedly quite tasty. And local BBQ sauce with no corn syrup. I don't understand the anchovies in it though. Must be a family recipe. And real maple syrup. Not that chemistry experiment that sits on store shelves. If I eat a slice of the blueberry pie that I bought I won't go to sleep tonight. But that Amish soap made with goats milk is supposedly incredible and lasts very long. I'll have to let you know how long.

Thus ends the ramblings.

And my mind is clear.

Thank you. Good Night. And Good Luck.

Bad luck sucks.

Bribing for Jobs

Before Cuomo gave $1 billion of our tax dollars to the capitalists in order to bribe then there was Geico. Yes, before we graciously threw $1 billion to the capitalists, we threw $100 million at Geico, changed laws that were designed to protect consumers, and other things that no one wants to list in newspaper articles. I'm sure if I did some digging I could find them all and list them out.

Yes, Geico. That annoying little green lizard that I'd like to once see get creamed by a car or whacked by a caveman.

And we are shelling out $4 million more for them to bring 600 more jobs to Amherst.

So the initial 2500 jobs cost us $40,000 each. The next 600 are going to run us $6666.67 each. That's a bargain. It's the same job as before. Somehow paying $2600 more for the same peanut butter and grape jelly sandwich on white is a success because?

Can I have a clue please? And NO! It was not the butler in the dining room with a candlestick. We eliminated that last turn, so please stop saying it.

And we are seeing the benefits from it for sure.

If you have a college degree, Geico is interested in you. No degree, no interest. This is good for an unemployed high school graduate that never went to college or had to drop out of college and never completed a degree program because … ? Give me some help here?

If you are looking for a house, the housing market in the area is tightening. This means that you can expect to pay more for housing than last year. This is good for banks and other agencies that deal with mortgages. How is this good for the working class that is trying to find an affordable place to live?  

Yep.  the same house or apartment is going to cost more.  This is good for people that are struggling to get by because?

Other companies are expanding. Yahoo! (Recently purchased by Verizon) is supposed to be expanding. I'm not going to hold my breath on that one. Once a buyout happens, cuts often follow because the newly purchased company has to be made more profitable for the owner. This always means cuts to the workers.

Ford will be expanding its stamping plant. And the automotive industry has been automating more and more, so whatever jobs that will be created are more likely to be covered by workers that were laid off or transferred in from other states. (I've heard of that happening quite a bit at the GM Plant in Tonawanda.)

And Cuomo is touting this bribery of the capitalists as a success because?

That's right – you guessed it! We have an election for governor coming up in two years. He's starting his campaign now, with a special focus on WNY because Paladino said that he might run for Governor again.

What a better way to pull the rug from under your potential opponent's feet than to show all the jobs that you created on the taxpayer's back.

Better yet – point out all the tax breaks that Paladino received and ask him where the jobs are?

My question is the same for Cuomo. These are all college degree jobs.

Give me jobs for those that need them that don't have degrees.

Now that I'm not going to hold my breath on.

Solar (im)Possibility?

My friend in the south towns received the call today that allowed him to throw the switch on the solar array that he had put on his house. Now he wants to get married so he can expand it. I can think of better reasons to get married.

In any event, as of last chat, he generated in the realm of 14 kW of electricity from 12:30 PM through 7 PM. Not bad for a half days work. He rarely gets excited. This excited him. He's a bit of a tree hugger. (Yes, I've seen him hug a tree. For real. He said it needed it. Maybe he needs some drug testing. After we get done with anyone that thinks college sports is a good financial idea for colleges.)

So he has either 14 or so panels across the top of his roof and the system is expandable. He's probably a good candidate for wind too out where he lives in the country. (Or in front of his mouth when he get talking about something passionately.)

Not so the people in Buffalo where National Grid is setting up small arrays on peoples' houses with the intent of generating enough electricity to take $17 to $20 off of their electric bills. And not everyone that is a good candidate for the panels is receiving them.

First – they have to check the roof. If it's not in good condition, no panels. Even though these people might benefit greatly from having their electricity bill knocked down a few bucks.

Where is the program to fix these peoples' roofs up? Fixing up all those roofs would create a decent amount of jobs and, if properly insulated and covered with metal instead of oil (it's what shingles are made of) would help cut gown on heating costs and electric usage. Jobs plus savings on bills and saving the environment. This is a winning program. I'm not going to hold my breath on seeing it get done any time soon.

Second they get the panels. I've seen a few of the arrays. When my friend received the proposed layout for his panels, it was a strange set up. When the solar install team came in, they had a better plan that would make it easier to set up the panels and make it easier to expand the system. He went with the revision.

These arrays in Buffalo are … I don't know what to say other than set up to fail? They are set up in strange patterns that make it impossible to expand. I know that some of the roofs are in strange shapes and that makes it difficult to mount panels on, but still.

And like I said, it's like National Grid wants the project to fail so that people get a negative impression of solar. Rather than show the positive possibilities of green energy, it is as if they are trying to make it miserable for all involved so that people discount what decentralized electricity production can do or be. (In my opinion.)

National Grid makes money by distributing electricity produced by others. They have to buy the electricity, mark it up, and then send it out. Solar and wind, which make it possible for people not to need a big corporate enterprise like National Grid, NYSEG, Rochester Gas & Electric, among so many others, takes the power away from the big corporations and put it back in the hands of the people. (Pun intended.)

Wall Street is not going to stand for that. Neither will the executives who need their multi million dollar salaries and bonuses.

If household battery technology takes off, then these corporations become even more unnecessary. The excess electricity generated by these systems could be stored and used at night rather than buying electricity from the grid. And as the technology improves, what my friend has as an array will eventually be able to power more than his house. I can see him with an electric car soon.

So, two areas, two different companies, and two different experiences.

Who do you think will stick with the program?

And the real question, who would benefit the most?

The answer needs to be all of us.