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.

Professors vs Coaches

WKBW-TV ran a story today on how a representative in Wisconsin wants to cut college costs by having professors video record their lectures and then, basically, dismiss the professors and have the students watch the lectures. This is because professors cost too much?

Why even bother with college at all? Just go to a web-site like the Great Courses, buy the courses you need , and get a college degree. Same concept.

Better idea: look at how much money is being paid to the football and basketball coaches (and others like hockey, baseball, and swimming) and then see how many courses those people are teaching. And I'm not talking pointless phys-ed courses for general education credit. I want them teaching courses that are required for an actual bachelors, masters, or PhD degree.

And then ask – why are these effectively part time positions being paid so much?

Yes, coaching is a part time position. Football lasts how long? August through January (if you are lucky enough to be in a bowl game) and then – poof! Season over. Basketball goes? Hockey? Baseball? Swimming? Is there even a professional swimming league? And what college did Serena & Venus Williams play for before going pro? Seriously.

And when talking about college costs, we need to look at how much of what a college takes in goes to actual education and how much is wasted on sports programs that run in the red year after year. Kind of like that stock that people buy that never makes any money but that they hang onto because sometime in the future it might? This yea we might get invited to a bowl game or make it to March Madness. Don't ask me about the other sports. They are pretty well ignored by the media.

So, parents and college students need to put their collective feet down and say no more of their college tuition for programs that do not contribute to education. At $1.3 trillion in college loans out there, how much of that paid for education and how much subsidized a pipe dream that no one should have been smoking?

And police are arresting who for possession?

They should go into the administrative offices of colleges with those drug sniffing dogs because what the administrators are practicing is far from good business sense.

College Sports & the problem of quitting

People get addicted to things. Drugs. Alcohol. Sex. And once they are, it is hard to break the chains that bind them to that addiction.

And so it goes with college sports. Part Two of the series on colleges and sports. Is it worth staying in Division I knowing that the college has no chance of winning the big game? Or might not even be invited to the dance at all?

But the hoped for savings are called “illusory” because the presidents and administration have to keep the alumni happy. It's not about the students attending the college or their hopes and dreams for the future. Nope. It's keeping the alumni happy.

Can the Library and History programs at UB and I'll be very unhappy. And my giving will stop. Will the administration be happy then?

Can I please have whatever drugs they are taking? Or at least be told what drugs they are taking?

St Bonaventure evidently can keep its team in Division I because of external funding – like alumni giving and corporate sponsors. Better idea – take the alumni giving and use it to keep full time faculty and let the corporations underwrite their own teams. Look at their stock prices and reported profits. Why should they be worried that the star players might not be on the team because they couldn't keep up their GPA? Let the corporation foot the bill and then they won't have to worry about all that academic stuff.

And how many communities have sporting arenas and complexes that sit around unused? (Another great waste of money.) The teams can use those to compete in. Let the colleges use the “illusory savings” from not having to waste money on sporting programs that chew up students like bubble gum at a county fair and spit them out like tobacco juice at a baseball game to fund full time faculty that help students graduate and succeed. More graduates with jobs means more donations.

I have met too many former college athletes that never graduated. And those scholarships and loans were given out because? Someone tell me please? And how much money do these drop outs donate to the colleges? Please tell me that?

And the colleges that are “making it?” No one has any names to give. At least not in the article. If this was such a lucrative venture for the colleges, then give us names of colleges that are actually making money off of their sporting programs. According to David Zirin (I believe) there are exactly six (6) Division I football programs that are self sustaining. Out of how many football teams?

And all the money to sustain these programs has to come from someplace. It's called student fees. Colleges spend big bucks hoping that they will win enough games, get to the big dance, and win the big one and see a profit come from the team.

Like a David Copperfield show, this is an illusion. Bu the debt that is hanging over college students' heads – from the drop outs to the graduates – is a bigger threat than a college will face from canning its sports program. The $1.3 trillion in student loans that, if defaulted, will send the world into a depression that will make 2007-08 look like a walk in the park is very real according to the economists that no one wants to listen to. And with people in that much of a hole and danger, college becomes even more difficult to afford. And the donations that are needed to keep the colleges going will dry up.

Either that or they will cut academics more and fund the sports programs with whatever they get their hands on. Like a junkie selling off family heirloom jewellery for the next high. What happens when there is nothing left to sell?

College sports has been described as a sacred cow. No one wants to slay it, but they know it is going to die one day. The Drake Group wants to get legislation passed that limits the amount of money that colleges can charge students to subsidize their sports teams. The correct answer is: None.

With the crisis in education that colleges are facing – students not graduating, not enough teachers for courses that students need, and sports costing even more every year, colleges need to look at why they exist and what their purpose is.

Is is career preparation and critical thinking?

Or keeping people happy, entertained, and stupid.

I know too many people with college debt that are not happy, certainly not entertained, and feel pretty stupid about going to college because they never completed their degree or could have done better at a community college program.

And they don't donate to alumni funds either. Most of them are barely making it, so donations of any kind aren't happening.

So, where do these colleges that are trying to live the illusion go?

I say they wake up from the dream and start to live in reality before reality gives them a rude awakening.

Poverty in WNY - A partial picture

Charity Vogel wrote a decent article about poverty last week. (I'm still recovering from whatever I had. I'm catching up on life.)

She covered Erie County nicely. She needs to take the next step and go outside of Erie and go into the other 7 counties that make up Western NY. Granted, that would be a ton of work top do. Each month a different county. Give us the big picture of poverty in the region.

Several observations:

First: In urban areas, especially in Buffalo and Tonawanda, the poverty rate looks worse to me. (According to the map that is part of the article.) Not everyone is benefiting from the “Buffalo Billion.” Just selective areas.

Second: Rural areas, like Collins and Evans, had a spike in poverty. These are the farmers that provide food for our tables. (Or at least some of them.) Farmers are always on the brink of breaking their bank. There is no reporting on this. It's not like Buffalo and other urban areas are the only pieces of Erie County. This could deal with the drought that we are having. But then again, we'd have to look at man made climate change and no part of the capitalist press wants to touch that.

Third: The Cattaraugus Indian Reservation. No one will touch poverty in the First Nations areas. To show that they are struggling to get by would be a blotch on the record of the government that has rounded them up and tied them to the “Rez.” Then again, it would also show that the government has failed to abide by the various treaty obligations that it has. Ignore the treaties – break the law. Who should we have arrested for that?

Fourth: And no paper owned by Warren Buffet will be allowed to say this – Capitalism is not doing its job. It is not providing work for the people that want to work. And what of those that are working part time jobs? Or two or more jobs to make ends meet? Or beneath their ability? (Like the person with a Masters degree working as a food server? I know several.)

Fifth: At that, capitalism is selective in whom it will help, where, and when. The Buffalo Niagara Corridor? Yes. The Fruit Belt will see some benefit from this, like higher home costs, increased tax assessments, you know, things designed to drive the poor out of an area so that it can be converted to middle and upper class housing.

So we have a snapshot, a very selective one at that, of poverty in our area.

We need to dig more into the issue and expose how serious the problem is in our region.

And then work to develop real solutions to the problem.

And bribing capitalists to create jobs is not a solution in my book.

African Heritage Food Coop in Buffalo

WIVB has been doing some good coverage on the local food movement and efforts of local people to address the food desert – especially the desert on the East Side.

Today they covered a new coop called the African Heritage Food Coop. Its goal is to eventually hire 60 people. My impression was that these people would be from the African American community. It is possible that they would be hiring from the urban unemployed in general.

They are a food coop in the style of the Elmwood Coop and Lexington Avenue Coop. They provide food to members – according to the story $30 gets members between $50 and $70 in food. (If I lived in Buffalo, I would see if I could get in on that. Sadly, I don't.  I do want to find their location though.)

Where is the food coming from? Local farmers. To me – another win. Local farmers get a better deal (in my impression) from coops than from the supermarkets. I imagine that during the winter months this will continue and I hope they expand to some of the urban farms and greenhouse projects that can grow fresh food all year round.

And the owner said that the goal is to make a profit. They are a business.

Wait – a socialist supporting a business that makes a profit? Well, yes. I understand that in order for a business to succeed it needs to do more than break even. Any high school senior that has taken Economics (aka capitalist propaganda) or a high school business major can tell you that.

The issue is who gets the profits. In corporate America the profits go to the 1%. The rich. In a coop the profits go to the workers that make the business succeed. That is good for the workers who will use the money (hopefully) to improve their lives: Invest in a house, their own education, etc. and improve their lives and also spend their money on other locally owned and operated worker coops.

Even better if they pool their money together and start a African American owned credit union or join a credit union rather than sink their money into a corporate bank where they get a pittance for interest while (again) the 1% make a killing.

To me, this story is about workers empowering themselves.

We need more stories like this in local media where the workers cut the strings from the corporate ruling class and build themselves up.

Marx & Engles, let alone Trotsky, James Cannon or any others, never really spelled out what they thought real socialism would look like. To me, part of what socialism is looks like worker owned and worker run cooperatives. Also credit unions, community owned broadband (Internet), and other utilities.

If the working class is to free itself from the chains that bind it, worker owned and run cooperatives and other programs that benefit the working class must be created, supported, and protected from corporate control and influence.

I wish this new cooperative success and hope that others follow their lead.

May they and other coops become the leadership in the revolution against the 1%.

Update:  Good story on the founding of the coop from WKBW.  They have been improving their local stories nicely. 

August Socialist Action Newspaper is Out!

And it's finally out and here – the August edition of the Socialist Action Newspaper.

It's late because of the Convention in Kansas City. I wish I could have made it but work and four cats that are terrified of other people made it impossible.

Inside this edition…..

Climate Protests – Against the Democrats during their convention. Great way to start out a convention with people telling them to get real about climate change and the greatest threat to civilization as we know it. Renewable energy now or else…..

Racism: Updates on Killer Baltimore police and the Black Lives Matters movement and their demands. (It's more than a movement – It's a life.)

Labor: Updates on strikes and the $15 NOW movement. If corporations can support multi-million dollar salaries for a bunch of pencil pushing desk jockeys that couldn't do the work that pays their salaries, then someone needs a cut. Just once I'd like to see the vice presidential staff of McDonald's Wendy's, Burger King or other fast food place try to work in a restaurant. That would be a great reality TV show. I don't think any of them could handle a 12 hour shift in a hot kitchen or waiting on customers.)

Education: Chicago teachers and parents demand funding for their schools. Money that they know that Chicago has but doesn't want to use on poor people.

Election News: The Socialist Action Platform – where we stand on the issues.

Election Analysis: Is Hillary a fascist? And what is really meant by that term? A good read. Long and good.

International News: Information on events in Turkey on the coup, Spain and Podemos, and Cuba support for freedom and democracy.

Canadian Comrades: Updates on Canada with Black Lives Matters, the Panama Papers (It is smoking and not in the way you are thinking.) and issues with the NDP leadership.

And for good measure, a film review of “Time to Choose.”

Save the Date: If you can make it, there will be a conference on Socialism in Connecticut on October 22^nd at Central Connecticut State University, AS soon as I find a link, I will post it.

If any of this interests you and you want more socialist news, subscribe to ournewspaper and our (free) electronic newsletter. (same link)

If you are serious about bringing change to this country and our world, join us.

You have nothing to lose but your chains.

And no one I know goes looking for them once they have been lost.

Disrespecting the Press or Stockholm Syndrome?

I enjoyed reading the Viewpoints article on the Democrat and Republican parties' disrespect for a free press and how much disdain they have for it.

Critical press has never been popular with the ruling class. Especially now with the obvious and painfully evident hostility of the working class towards the two … twits? I have no idea what to call them other than control freaks, predictable, and boring. (Can we fire them both and ignore the Democratic and Republican Parties for fronting them? Please?)

Trump is playing reality show TV. It's all he knows and man does it show.

Clinton is so managed in her message that she sounds more plastic than my bank ATM card. Her talking points are about saccharine and I've shoveled less BS in all the years that I worked on my neighbor's farm when I was in high school.

And if the media dare fact checks and calls those two candidates out on it – forget it. Their true believer followers will be all over them. (BTW - Read that book and carefully. It could easily be rewritten now for the Democratic and Republican parties and their followers. It was originally written as a hit piece on communists and socialists.)

So, what should the press do?

I say screw the Democrats and Republicans. Send a token reporter and give them a story in the election coverage section.

And what to do with the rest of the space?

Easy. Report on the other political candidates that are running for office. I know of several people that are “Never Trump” and are into the Libertarian and Constitution parties. Never heard of them? It's because the media fails to cover them. In a truly democratic society with a media that followed the idea of educating the electorate, they would.

Then there are the jilted Sanders supporters that are looking at Cinton with the “ick” factor going as well. I have heard several say that they would never vote for her. (Vote for a qualified woman? Yes. Her? No.) Several news stories that I have read on-line state that 25% of the Sanders supporters would not vote for Hillary. I'm sure that number would be larger if the media did something other than report the Democrats as the political left in this country. (Hint: It's not.)

It is interesting to see an article every here and there that covers the Green Party. Interesting that the reporters go off on the Green Party's candidates support for homeopathy but fail to give the same level of critical examination to tax cuts for the rich that fail to produce the promised jobs and economic boost. (Two words – EPIC FAIL.)

And there are actual socialists running for president. As a member of Socialist Action, I will blatantly plug our candidates – Jeff Mackler for President and Karen Schraufnagel for Vice President. We have a platform that s readily available for all to see and I'm sure that they would love to answer questions from the media. They would probably bend over backwards to accommodate the media.

But the media has already made a decision – these third party candidates are unelectable, so they are not going to take the time to cover them. And that is part of the reason why people are blowing off the Buffalo News and other corporate sources as serious sources of news and other information.

The responsibility of the media is to inform and educate the citizenry about issues that matter to them. Not to act as gatekeepers and decide what is realistic and what isn't in an election year.

If the media took third party candidates seriously and gave them the same coverage, or at least some coverage beyond the pithy and token coverage that they now receive, then the two main parties would have no choice but to grow up and act responsibly. And people would be more inclined to pay attention to the media.

But given the fact that the media has Stockholm Syndrome, I am not confident that I will see anything other than the drivel that I see now. That's why I go to the independent media on the web and subscribe to independent magazines and newspapers.

So, the media has a choice – break the Stockholm Syndrome or stop complaining.

I expect that all I am going to hear from them is more complaining.

Sadly.

Athletic Waste

The Buffalo News had a feature article today titled “How athletic spending helps boost enrollment.”

Increasing enrollment is one thing. Increasing achievement and graduation is another. And Increasing full time faculty is a whole other ball game altogether.

And the article talks about none of these. And it should have been the focus – holding the people in power accountable for wasting student tuition dollars on programs that provide no academic worth whatsoever.

As a UB alumni, I give nothing to the general fund when I make donations. I specify the 2 departments that I graduated from (Bachelor and Masters degrees) or the libraries. According to students that I have spoken with, the general fund goes to support athletic scholarships. I'm not an athletic supporter in any way. I went to college for academics and from 1986 to now I have been to 1 total sporting event, and that was involuntary. I had to go to something for a freshman colloquium class that I had taken. Easy credit. Totally worthless as far as academic worth.

And I achieved a better workout biking from the West Side of Buffalo to the Amherst campus than any of those athletes on the field received playing the game. Or preparing for the game all week. Cost to other students? Zero. Health benefits to me? Many.

I have had my academics interrupted by sporting events when I couldn't find a parking space because all the parking near the Lockwood Library was taken up by people attending a sporting event at the overpriced and totally underused stadium or at the Alumni Arena. (Cost to taxpayers? Too much. Utility? Go back two sentences. The University could have saved money by getting a contract to use Rich Stadium.)

My questions/problems about this article are that it is too shallow. It doesn't look at the most important aspect of this whole adventure – the books. By that I mean the accounting books. The spreadsheets. And that is all that matters for this story.

Let's get down to brass tacks: How much are the local universities spending on athletics as a whole and how much do they bring in? Are they self sustaining as some universities claim or are they a big vacuum sucking up money that would better serve the university as a whole if it was spent to support full time professors?

Any sporting program that is not 100% self sustaining – gets the ax. Colleges are about education, not entertainment. UB's athletic program did nothing for me or anyone that I have spoken with in all the years that I attended college and have donated except inconvenience us and our educational goals. I have heard from many students that complain about being taught by adjunct professors that are here one year (or semester) and gone the next. (So much for letters of recommendation.) Or can't get the courses that they need to graduate because they are only offered at certain times and you need certain pre requisite courses to take them and those courses aren't always available either. But the university always has the money for a chartered flight for a sports team.

How many of the athletes that receive scholarships actually graduate? And in how many years? In what major(s)? (I have met so many athletes over the years majoring in communications and other majors and when I ask them what their career plans are I get the infamous “I don't know.” They know they have no chance at playing professionally.)

So, what are colleges supposed to do?

First: No sports at all. Can them. It's not their responsibility of the students of the university to provide fodder for the professional teams. Given the high profit margins that the professional sports teams have, they can afford to make their own farm teams. So there are only 32 teams in the NFL. Not my job to subsidize someone else's pipe dream. The increased competition will be good for the league. (Am I sounding like a good conservative capitalist here or what?) Baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer, etc can all do the same. They have the money. It's not our job to subsidize their profits.)

Second: If a school wants to have a sports team – make it a club like the UB Mad Turtles (Rugby. At least when I went to UB it was a club.) They get a small stipend and the club members have the responsibility to make up the rest of their financial needs.

Third: Colleges need to remember why they exist – career education. Granted, I took some courses for the fun of it, but I went to college to prepare me for a career. Originally colleges were created for career and higher education and they will only move forward if they go back to their original purpose.

So, this story looks like it will be a series for several days this week. If it fails to show how athletics are destroying students' opportunities and dreams and saddling them with debt, it is a waste of ink and paper.

Somehow I doubt we will see anything critical.

So I am not going to hold my breath.

More Pipeline Opposition

Opposition to the proposed Northern Access Pipeline that would send toxic fracked gas from Pennsylvania to Canada is gaining opposition across Western New York.

In Sardinia, a small farming community off of Route 16, they held an old fashioned “Grange Styled” meeting speaking about the dangers of the pipeline to the community. Sardinia is a farming community just south of Route 400 and Holland. This pipeline is a threat to the farmers and their way of living and earning an income.

Several threats to the community that involved this pipeline were discussed.

First was the pipeline itself and the loss of land that farmers faced. If the pipeline goes through a farmer's land, that land is unusable for farming. And all the farmer will receive is a token payment for the loss of the land. A one time token payment. The farmer, a businessman by nature, loses out to the larger businessman – the big gas company. And the money that the farmer will receive will not cover the loss of crops that they face as long as that pipeline is in use.

By the way – that loss of land translates into a loss of food. For us. This gas is going to Canada. What is more important to us – food for our tables or keeping Canada warm?

And after that pipeline goes in, there is stray voltage that comes out of them – a nice side effect that I was not aware of. This voltage can be powerful enough to kill wild animals and cattle. Will the farmer be compensated for the loss of their cattle from this stray voltage? I doubt it.

And I like hiking. Barefoot. Something about feeling the grass in my toes and dirt under my feet that feels good. Are these pipelines going to be adequately marked so that nature lovers stay away from them? However far away “safe” happens to be?

And the heavy construction trucks will compress the soil in such a manner that farmers that till the soil will not be able to break it up for ten years. Again, more lost income for the farmers. Will they be compensated for this loss too? Doubt it.

And then the water. Yes, we can talk about the damage to the wells when (not if) a spill happens. Let's add to this discussion the 180 streams it will cross, 270 wetlands (isn't the Federal Government supposed to protect these?), and seven ponds that farmers need for cattle and other uses. This is more than I was aware of before. The more I dig into this pipeline and hear what people have to say about it – the worse it becomes.

All so Canada can have cheap crappy gas?

And with the damage to the streams, you can write off fishing in those areas. More loss to local commerce.

Find a map of this proposed pipeline and you will see it affects rural areas the most. Almost exclusively. And why should farmers that are barely making it by on what they make have to pay the price for crappy gas for Canada?

Yes - crappy gas. The gas from fracking wells is not a high quality gas that the companies like you to think it is. It is a lower grade gas with a higher content of water as well as dangerous chemical substances like benzene – a well known carcinogen. A repairman that I know that spends a significant time fixing natural gas and propane appliances says that using fracked gas shortens the life of the appliance. Significantly.

WE-CAP – Wyoming, Erie, Cattaraugus Communities Act on the Pipeline,the Sierra Club, the Pendleton Action Team are encouraging people from all over the area to look at the dangers this pipeline will present and stand together and oppose it.

Environmentalists, sportsmen and women, farmers, and anyone that is concerned about nature need to join together to oppose this pipeline and the deadly threat that it presents to our communities and way of life.

Stop the Bomb Train

An environmental disaster in the making could start as soon as September according to the Buffalo News. Rather than telling us the truth about this mess, they decide to “be objective” and tell “both sides” of the story and let the reader make up their own mind.

There is one side to this story – this is a bad idea. Putting nuclear waste – some of it weapons grade – into shipping containers (basically) and sending it by rail from Michigan, through Canada, across the Peace Bridge, through impoverished communities until it reaches a processing plant in South Carolina that can do nothing to reduce the radioactivity or volatility of the material is just plain … you choose your own word for “stupid” here.

Seriously? They want to ship the most toxic material ever made by mankind, save anything Donald Trump says, via train how far? And through what areas?

First: They are transporting liquid radioactive waste. This includes weapons grade enriched uranium, as well as radioactive isotopes of cesium, strontium, plutonium, and others unlisted. Look at the health effects of these deadly isotopes and you'll know why the others are not listed. They are probably worse or more dangerous.

Second: Weapons grade materials? How much military security are they putting on these trains and as escorts? Right in the newspaper too. Any terrorist would just love to know that information.

Third: They are shipping it over the Peace Bridge. Imagine something going wrong on the bridge and the waste getting into the Great Lakes. There goes fishing on the Niagara River and Lake Ontario. And swimming in the lake. Kiss the local tourism industry goodbye.

Fourth: Pull out a map of railroads in the region and look at where they run. First this waste would go through poor urban areas that have a high minority population. Not nice upscale Amherst, Williamsville, or Clarence. Poor urban areas.

They they run through the rural communities that provide our local food. Like the grown locally signs in Tops, Wegmans, Dash's, and other stores? The government wants to ship highly toxic nuclear waste through those areas.

And don't look at the half-life of those radioactive isotopes. In the event of a spill, people won't be living or growing food in those areas for quite a long time. I don't even want to speculate the impact on the Niagara River or Lake Ontario.

And the water table in the rural areas. Can the scientists and military guarantee that in the event of a spill that the water will not be affected? I'm not going to hold my breath. (I'll need an oxygen tank and a mask according to my sister that works for OSHA. Off the record, she says this idea is asinine.)

Fifth: The local first responders have been or are being trained in safety measures and precautions to take in the event of a spill. Somehow I don't think that my local volunteer fire department is going to be the best group of people to handle a nuclear spill. House fire? Yes. Field fire? Seen them do it. Yes. Barn fire? Yes. (Heard plenty of stories. And one guy led out horses rather calmly.)Nuclear waste?  Let's leave that to the full time, highly paid professionals.

Transporting material this volatile requires professionals that are ready to go immediately when the accident happens. Not within thirty minutes (or less) of the call going out.

Sixth: Why are we creating this deadly material in the first place? No one is asking that question. We know it is deadly, toxic, and uncontrollable one out in the open. Look at Fukushima, Chernobyl, and Three Mile Island. (From what I have heard, it was worse than we were told.) And we have no need or use for it. (Unless you listen to my conspiracy theory minded friend that talks about how aliens are producing something and need these isotopes. I wish they would lay off those funny smelling cigarettes. They smell like burned rope. And they are not allowed on my property or in my house. Even in brownie form.)

This is a hair brained idea that is going to turn out bad in some way, shape, manner, or form.

Socialists support those that are opposed to the bomb trains, or mobile Chernobyls as they are nicknamed.

This is an environmental disaster that is waiting to happen and the only successful way to deal with it is to prevent it from happening at all.

A Spectre is Haunting Energy Companies

I'm catching up on the pod-casts that I like to listen to. One that I particularly like is CounterSpin by FAIR – Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. Not exactly socialist media – but good media criticism.

It would be nice if it was on the radio in Buffalo or Rochester – it's a good media show that covers many ideas that are near and dear to the political left. From racism to economic inequality to mindless militarism and so many other topics – it gives a perspective that is not covered on the corporate owned media. It is on a low powered radio station in Jamestown, but trying to get that signal is impossible unless you are within city limits. It's worth the 30 minutes to listen to. (Download or stream online.)

Today I listened to a show on how environmental groups are getting gin the way of a “truly green energy program” - nuclear energy. (I'll wait while you pick yourself up off the floor laughing. Any one that is familiar with nuclear energy knows that it is far from environmentally friendly. Especially after Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, Fukushima, and any other accidents that I have failed to mention. I won't go into the cancer rates of the workers or the people who live around the plants.)

Harvey Wasserman totally wrecked the nuclear industry's claims on being environmentally friendly. He also went into who is opposed to wind and solar energy and why. It's not just the energy producers that are opposed to the competition – it's the energy distribution networks – like National Grid – that lose money on the electricity that they are not shuttling around.

First the energy producers – They claim that wind and solar energy are irregular and that there is no way to deal with the ebb and flow of the electricity. Yes – there are days when the wind is very light and the mega-industrial turbines don't turn. And we have cloudy days and low light days (like December 21^st) where there is little light. However there are smaller turbines that work well in low wind and solar panels are getting more efficient and able to generate electricity with lesser amounts of light.

And then there's that old fashioned technology called batteries. You may have heard of them? Or had one die on your cell phone or mp3 player because you forgot to charge it last night? Elon Musk of Tesla Car company fame is building a manufacturing plant for batteries and one of the goals is to build batteries for houses. He is so committed to having these batteries developed that he made his research and technology for the batteries open source – anyone can get them and work with them. His goal? Get the collective brilliance together and make the technology work and be affordable. (I hate to blow sunshine at Musk, but his idea is good and exactly what we need to save the planet. Let's get worker coops building these panels and batteries.)

And we are almost there - a firm in St Catherines, Ontario took his work and believes that they can take the same storage battery that Tesla would produce for $10,000 USD and produce it for $2000 USD. They are in field testing now from what I understand. Strange that the Buffalo News today brings up the necessity of fossil fuels because of the “limits” of truly green energy but seem to have forgotten their own article on the St Catherines battery development. Selective memory?

So we have a problem – irregular energy production – being solved by open sourcing, collaboration, and some sort of competition. Isn't that part of what capitalism claims it can do?

Or am I not supposed to mention that?

Second – The energy distribution companies. They make their money off of the electricity that they sell and deliver. I looked at my last bill – half of the bill was delivery costs. Now, if I have solar on my house and I don't buy any electricity from them, how much money do they make?

And if I produce more energy than I use, they have to buy it from me. So I become an electrical producer. And Harvey Wasserman brings this point up – the producers and distributors don't want the competition. They want strict rules on who can produce and distribute power – only them. Any sort of competition is not allowed because it affects their profits.

But doesn't that go against the spirit of capitalism? Don't capitalists say that competition brings out the best and new ideas and drives the inefficient and bad ideas out of business?

And that is what they – the coal, gas, oil, and nuclear – producers are afraid of. The new solar panels are getting more and more efficient, as well as the wind turbines. There are smaller turbines now that are generating 10+ kW with a smaller profile. And with the battery technology that is coming out, individual producers of solar and wind electricity will be able to store their excess energy and save it for a “rainy day” (or windless). This decentralized production will render them less necessary, profitable, and potentially bankrupt.

It's the stages of death from psychology class and the fossil fuel industry is doing everything it can to stave off its inevitable death. (No resurrection please.) The industry knows its days are numbered and are fighting against what everyone knows is inevitable.

So there is a ghost haunting the energy companies. It is the ghost of …. capitalism?

So, how do the capitalists defeat the monster that they created and say is the end all and be all of civilization?

To destroy it is to destroy themselves.

Decisions decisions.