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.