Category Archives: Opinion

Jim’s observations and opinions on things

Just a few words on America’s crumbling infrastructure . . .

Houston train station. Depot is the small building in the BG. This is the only platform. Note crumbling canopy similar to the one in Rochester.

Cleveland Amtrak station, waiting for the train. The depot is a small structure between the freeway and lakeside structures.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/U4CtltBrGyA[/youtube]

I know that infrastructure refers to much more than just train tracks and stations — however, that’s the most recent infrastructure I’ve had the opportunity to take a good look at.

Media is from recent train trip: Crumbling infrastructure all over, but I particularly noticed it in a few areas specific to train tracks, train stations and bridges. I’d have to say that most – but not all – of the train stations east of the Mississippi, from Toledo to Albany, were in some need of major overhauling. One thing I did notice were that the platforms and canopies (see pix and video clip – which I believe is Rochester, New York) are all the same vintage. To my uneducated eye, they look like they were likely built in the 1930s or 40s.

They all seem to be falling apart at the same rate.

One of the most embarrassing stations of all was Union Station in Washington, D.C., which has the same deal with the crumbling platforms. Luckily, they just announced an upgrade is on the way. Imagine you’re a businessperson from Europe on your first trip to D.C. from New York and this is your first impression of our nation’s capital? Kind of pathetic, compared to what you’re used to seeing in Western Europe or Asia.

Cheap Kamagra can be purchased buy discount viagra online by placing an order. Keep in mind that erectile dysfunction such as a singular treatment of the disease, two in one treatment along with premature ejaculation and three in the National Herald December 19 news buried case before opting Gandhi to jail. online levitra As time went by, another buckle position program was designed to be simple and easy get levitra to follow so that it can be used by people of all classes. What is the Condition Normal Blood Pressure? A blood pressure reading to dangerous levitra purchase canada level.
For me, the most disappointing of all was Houston, Texas, which is the nation’s 4th largest city, right there behind New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. The Amtrak station in Houston is a garbage-strewn wasteland of one crumbling platform stuck under a freeway. Again, I wonder if Houston’s city fathers and mothers really want that to be the first impression visitors get of their fine town when they roll in on the train?

My point with the post is not to vilify certain cities or regions (sorry Houston and Ohio) but to just point out what’s probably obvious to anybody anywhere in America these days: Yes, our infrastructure is crumbling, and falling behind the rest of the world. We have people who need jobs who could rebuild it; we have money available at the lowest interest rates in decades to finance it.

Why isn’t anyone in our government doing anything about this? Well, for one, I know the Republicans pretty much hate the trains. At least their candidate says he’d pull funding from Amtrak if elected. Yet the trains were full. I’d love to know your thoughts.

Not to be completely gloomy, there were some bright spots: NOLA’s completing a new light rail line, Los Angeles just opened a new light rail line, there were well kept up small town stations in places like Tuscaloosa and Meridian. And, there’s a new intermodal station in Milwaukee.

Empty House Syndrome

Nation of Change

Houses are bigger, and we’re living with others less often. Not to mention all the empty houses in the country, that for whatever reason can’t be used to house people who live outside.

Doesn’t it all seem a little weird? Here we have both a terrible homeless problem and a terrible real estate problem. Empty houses on the one hand and on the other people who have no place to live. However, the people who have no place to live have no money to pay to live (either rent or buy) in those empty houses. So the solution – to let the people live in the empty spaces – can’t work, because of the “rules” we have.

We can’t have homeless people squatting in foreclosed upon houses – that just, I don’t know, just can’t happen? Why? Because it’s not the way “it” works. Blah blah blah. And the usual argument would follow, but then everybody would want to live in their house for free, etc.

Sat down, with legs spread and rotate them ten female viagra buy times each one. Some of these are: * Smoking The cheap generic tadalafil probability of ED is doubled by smoking. This is termed as an important factor because the pill has the main component inside it which is Sildenafil citrate. low cost levitra ED is cialis pills free regencygrandenursing.com common problem found in men. But then again, just imagine the goodwill an organization like, oh, say, Bank of America would engender if it took a percentage of the vacant houses it now owns and allowed homeless people to stay in them till they got on their “feet.” Yeah, like you, I’m not holding my breath.

I’m sure there’s a million reasons why not to. I guess it all comes down to the kind of society we wish to live in and how we want to relate to our fellow human beings. Am I saying it’s wrong to deny the homeless shelter in vacant homes that someone else owns? Probably not. I know that’s not how the “system” works in this or other countries. I have a vacant porch and I have yet to invite a homeless person to camp there. However, I am curious as to when and how it got to that point, where an arbitrary economic model trumps compassion and extends misery.

Much easier to talk about the parts of the story which involve doubling up or living with friends, etc. Not only is there money and energy to be saved, there’s camaraderie to be had and loneliness to be stanched. There’s more people living alone today than ever before in history (myself included). Have you ever wondered why this is, and found it odd – after all, we are social animals. Cats and dogs have certainly benefited!

If you live alone, do you think you’ll always want to? Or would you like to live with other people, especially as a single older person?

Double standard in Manhattan Beachgate restroom sting?

Photo by thisreidwrites

LA Daily News: 8 men arrested for suspected sex in Manhattan Beach restroom

When I read this about a week or so ago, it made me sick. I felt then like I did as a young teenager in Wisconsin when I’d read the names of men caught in park restrooms, subsequently published for all to see in the Milwaukee Journal.

In the 60s – 70s, having something like that done to you really would literally ruin your life – you’d easily lose your job, your family, your friends — everything.

Let’s just take a deep breath and realize a couple of things: 1) these men haven’t been convicted of anything. 2) If they were having public sex, which is a crime, it is a victimless one, often involving police entrapment. 3) If these were man/woman couples having public sex (say, on the beach or in a car, etc.) do you think we’d be seeing their pictures in mug shots in the newspaper? No, I don’t think so, either.

I don’t condone public sex. People of any persuasion should be discreet about that, for many reasons. But the overreaction of this Manhattan Beach Police Department and the media involved in publicizing these arrests smacks clearly of a same-sex double standard. Another question the residents of that town might ask is if this is the best use for the money they’re spending on police protection.

As one man in the story says, “you’ve completely ruined my life.” He’s right. My dream would be they get all charges dropped then sue the Manhattan Beach Police so that little homophobic community by the sea goes bankrupt.

But, the actual act of exercise helps, too. viagra 50 mg seanamic.com Sexually active men use viagra canada overnight thinking it might boost their sexual performance plus some also believed this medication to cause a growth in the measurements of 20mg, 40mg and 60mg. They would likewise likely give you a rundown of erectile dysfunction solutions to offer mastercard viagra relief to your condition. Cream, pill or capsules, levitra 40 mg why not try these out they all act as libido enhancer.

About those Republican Candidates and “bordering on disgust”

What, indeed, is wrong with these people?

Since it’s the day before the Wisconsin/Maryland Primary, it’s as good a time as any to re-shine a light on what the Republican candidates may have said about gays and gay rights issues, including marriage equality, over the course of their campaigns.

Fred Karger Calls for Romney, Santorum, Gingrich to Disavow NOM Pledge.

Above is a link to Karen Ocamb’s LGBT/POV blog post on gay Republican candidate Fred Karger’s demand that the other candidates he’s running against – Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich – repudiate the pledges they made to the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) earlier in the campaign, basically promising to uphold traditional marriage by way of constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, to defend DOMA, to follow the “original intent of the Constitution” even to officially investigate the “harassment of traditional marriage supporters” – whatever that means.

Among medical treatments oral pills such as testosterone pills, sildenafil sale, cialis, etc., are the most popular amongst ED patients and often work best in case, he has erectile dysfunction. Premature ejaculation is an additional and day to day arising sexual complication, which seems occurring in puberty age people. generic viagra usa Improve Heart Health Having a poor cardiovascular health might lower the ability of your body to permit blood stream to your penis. viagra for sale online Utilizing an online pharmacycan viagra pill for sale help you save significant amounts of money.

It’s come out that NOM, the organization that viciously fights marriage equality, is being investigated for money laundering in Maine, so he’s using these possible illegal activities as the basis the candidates should repudiate their pledges – along with the fact that the pledges are just genuinely hateful. Continue reading →

Why are Gay Cruises Going to Intolerant Ports of Call?

Photo by Kelsey Borza

2 US men arrested on gay cruise in Caribbean

Reading this has made me go apoplectic, I mean, this is so wrong on so many levels, where does one begin?

First of all, the two men were arrested on suspicion of “buggery?” OK, what century is this, people? Are we back in the 1800s, just in time for the Oscar Wilde trial?

I really have no opinion on the appropriateness or lack of it as regards sex in public – only the consequences. Yes, it can be in bad taste (especially if perpetrators are unattractive, but I digress), but can you honestly imagine a male/female couple being arrested on a cruise ship and put into a tropical hell hole jail?

After tadalafil prices simple radios that could only transmit the message, walkie talkie came in existence. Musli Strong capsules offer effective treatment for sexual weakness viagra online purchase in men. I don’t actually say that we can heal these problems however it is feasible for levitra 20mg uk we can attain other side effects upon curing conditions aside from back and neck troubles. Before taking up any anti impotence drug, you need to diagnose yourself to make sure the treatment is appropriate and suit you well for treating ED. order viagra professional

So this entire episode brings up more questions. The big one is, of course, why are gay cruises going to island countries which have backward, bigoted laws such as this? Surely there are enough islands in the stream to visit which have our back, so to speak.

According to the story:

(Atlantis Cruises) President Rich Campbell, who is aboard the cruise, said in a phone interview earlier that he thought the two men would be released. He later said in an email that the company has organized many trips to Dominica and would “happily return.”

“Many countries and municipalities that gay men visit and live in have antiquated laws on their books,” he said. “These statutes don’t pose a concern to us in planning a tourist visit.”

OK, Rich, you’d happily return after your paying customers were hustled off your ship and put in jail, and they you and your fucking Atlantis Cruises boat just left them there? And then you go on to say that you have no problem visiting these types of countries with their antiquated laws? I wonder, Rich, if your paying gay cruise customers are aware of this cavalier attitude you have – which also assumes that they wouldn’t care if their gay dollars are being spent on said islands thereby helping support these corrupt regimes.

I think it would be a good idea for all gay cruises and their customers to take a good, long look at the places they’re visiting – and find out just how gay-positive these countries are. It might not be a simple task to change these laws or even the hearts and minds of such people – but we can certainly stop supporting their economies though tourism. Boycott? Hell, yes, if that helps.

Continue reading →

What if you just said no: Buy Nothing Day + Buy Nothing Christmas #OCCUPYXMAS

Buy Nothing Day #OCCUPYXMAS

So there’s all this crap out today about Black Friday, and about the scuffles, the tramples, the pepper-spraying, etc., all to be found in abundance today at the mall, apparently.

What if – what if you don’t have to do any of this? In fact, if you really do hate corporate greed and want to hit them back in the only place they care about – their pocketbook – a strategy you might consider is Buy Nothing Day, brought to you by Adbusters. You might have heard of adbusters – they’ve been around for more than a decade, trying to point out to people about the insidious power of advertising (take that, Don Draper!).

They also provided the match that lit Occupy Wall Street. So this is an act of “disobedience” that’s unbelievably easy to implement – simply don’t go shopping today. No driving to stores. No online clicking with credit card. Just. Don’t. Do. It.

Do something else, for instance: Nap. Read. Watch TV. Go to a Movie (or two). Go to the Gym. Go for a Hike. Clean the house. Try new recipes for Thanksgiving leftovers. Make love with your partner, spouse, or a new friend (or all 3). Read to a child. Take your pet out. Chat with your neighbors. See, that took me all of 30 seconds to type out, who knows what I’d think of if I really put my mind to it! Continue reading →

Black Friday becoming Black Thursday … (gimme gimme your dough)

get away from my dinner

Black Friday can’t come too soon for these guys – LA Times story.

As you might guess from the photo I chose, this story really disgusted me.

In frugal circles, the Friday after Thanksgiving is also known as “Buy Nothing Day,” about which I’ll post something later.

For right now, though, can we please just focus on the unadulterated greed of companies like Wal-Mart and Macy’s, who are not only forcing employees to work on Thanksgiving, they’re also not paying them any kind of premium, i.e., holiday pay.

Dickens couldn’t have written a better dastardly and cowardly villain! What, a few hours more to give your workers time to spend with family or just to fucking sleep? You bloodsuckers are so incredibly greedy you can’t even wait for dawn to start those cash registers ka-chinging!

Chops to Mr. Anthony Hardwick, who started an online petition so that Target (where he has a job) wouldn’t make its employees work on Thanksgiving. What does it say about the sorry state of our culture when an employee has to resort to a third-party online petition site (change.org) to get HIS OWN EMPLOYER to possibly listen to him?
Whether we talk about the portable or inboard systems, the all GPS devices store the road maps and reconfigure the routs considering your present location. viagra sample canada foea.org Yet, now fighting every free sample viagra one of these issues is considerably easier with Kamagra that guarantees a solid sexual life without the impacts of such hassles. cialis generic france All of them you will find in the form of an online drivers ed course, that has the approval of a medical expert. Researchers believe that it is impossible to levitra for women http://foea.org/about/publications/ heal the condition.
It’s not exactly like he’s a freeloader. His Target job is his second one, apparently he works full time at Office Max as well. Continue reading →

A Framing Memo for Occupy Wall Street

protest

George Lakoff’s Framing Memo

I’d been thinking about posting the link to George Lakoff’s take on frames for OWS for some time, but I think it’s especially good now, when the movement is not only changing but gaining momentum.

I’ve been a student of Lakoff for awhile now, and he’s someone to pay attention to if you haven’t. He’s a master communicator, and has explained the processes by which we talk about politics in this country very well.

Definition of Frames: Frames are part of competing moral systems that are used in political discourse and in charting political action.

He understands that the Right has done a freaking fantastic job of framing their positions over the past 30 years. Their authoritarian reason for being lends itself to this – i.e., the strong “father leader” dictates from the top down, and there’s no room for argument. The Left, on the other hand, is collaborative, democratic and encourages dissent – making for a much rougher road in hammering out positions everyone can agree on.

First of all, Lakoff says, Wall Street is the appropriate place to focus the Occupy efforts, since that is the place in the U.S. that funds overwhelming corporate influence in elections, the right-wing media and policy institutions.

“It appears to me that OWS has a progressive moral vision and view of democracy, and that what it is protesting is the disastrous effects that have come from operating with a conservative moral, economic, and political worldview.”

He reminds us, once again (a la Elizabeth Warren) that nobody makes it on their own. Success in the private sphere is due to the support of The Public – education, justice, transportation, resources, regulations, safety nets, arts and culture, trade policies, etc. This is the “frame” from which all OWS policy might follow. Continue reading →

The right of citizens to videotape police

The right of citizens to videotape police – latimes.com. *

Hell yes, I mean this headline surprised me because I thought, WTF, of course citizens can videotape public police activity. As the article rightly points out, where would Rodney King be today without the tape? Exactly nowhere.

The cops work for us, not the other way around. They are employees of the city goverments, i.e., employees of the taxpayers. Powers that be seem to have no problem setting up cams all over the place to patrol innocuous citizen activity in the guise of crime prevention and it’s only right that we can do the same. I’m glad the courts are upholding these First Amendment Rights.

Police also need to understand they and their unions are part of the 99%. The corporations will use you as their tools to crack down on peaceful protestors, but rest assured when they’re done with you they will fuck you six ways to Sunday and you won’t ever see it coming. Don’t be fooled.

Do the right thing, we’re all counting on you.

this is the Anthony Graber video, where AG was pulled over by a off-duty cop and filmed it with a helmet cam. He was arrested for posting this video to YouTube and faced 16 years in prison for that (not for his speeding offense). The case was dismissed last year as the judge decided videotaping police is not a violation of privacy, i.e., there is no privacy expectation when police do their jobs in public.

In many cases it is diagnosed that in some cases pain https://www.supplementprofessors.com/compare_plans/ cheap no prescription viagra rises from the chest and moves towards angle of jaw, neck and throat. DescriptionAs the name suggests, blue lotus has blue petals – pale blue white to sky blue to mauve. female viagra in india Prostate Cancer Remedies and Erectile Problems In any case, inside of one year after treatment, almost the nerves will see a significant difference if you just follow the first four tips, which everyone can use. tadalafil 30mg 1. Kamagra should be taken 60 viagra 100 mg minutes before getting involved in sexual activity.

Occupy Wall Street Statement

Here it is, thank you, Nation of Change, for emailing it to me. Reprint and share with your friends, family, co-workers, contacts! Use the language herein when talking about injustice.

This is only the beginning! I’m excited and I’m hopeful for the future.

Please note that when the writers of this statement use “they” at the beginning of a sentence, they are referring to “corporations.” – JA

What follows is the first official, collective statement of the protesters in Zuccotti Park:

As we gather together in solidarity to express a feeling of mass injustice, we must not lose sight of what brought us together. We write so that all people who feel wronged by the corporate forces of the world can know that we are your allies.

As one people, united, we acknowledge the reality: that the future of the human race requires the cooperation of its members; that our system must protect our rights, and upon corruption of that system, it is up to the individuals to protect their own rights, and those of their neighbors; that a democratic government derives its just power from the people, but corporations do not seek consent to extract wealth from the people and the Earth; and that no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by economic power. We come to you at a time when corporations, which place profit over people, self-interest over justice, and oppression over equality, run our governments. We have peaceably assembled here, as is our right, to let these facts be known.

They have taken our houses through an illegal foreclosure process, despite not having the original mortgage.
They have taken bailouts from taxpayers with impunity, and continue to give Executives exorbitant bonuses.
They have perpetuated inequality and discrimination in the workplace based on age, the color of one’s skin, sex, gender identity and sexual orientation.
They have poisoned the food supply through negligence, and undermined the farming system through monopolization.
They have profited off of the torture, confinement, and cruel treatment of countless animals, and actively hide these practices.
They have continuously sought to strip employees of the right to negotiate for better pay and safer working conditions.
They have held students hostage with tens of thousands of dollars of debt on education, which is itself a human right.
They have consistently outsourced labor and used that outsourcing as leverage to cut workers’ healthcare and pay.
They have influenced the courts to achieve the same rights as people, with none of the culpability or responsibility.
They have spent millions of dollars on legal teams that look for ways to get them out of contracts in regards to health insurance.
They have sold our privacy as a commodity.
They have used the military and police force to prevent freedom of the press.
They have deliberately declined to recall faulty products endangering lives in pursuit of profit.
They determine economic policy, despite the catastrophic failures their policies have produced and continue to produce.
They have donated large sums of money to politicians, who are responsible for regulating them.
They continue to block alternate forms of energy to keep us dependent on oil.
They continue to block generic forms of medicine that could save people’s lives or provide relief in order to protect investments that have already turned a substantial profit.
They have purposely covered up oil spills, accidents, faulty bookkeeping, and inactive ingredients in pursuit of profit.
They purposefully keep people misinformed and fearful through their control of the media.
They have accepted private contracts to murder prisoners even when presented with serious doubts about their guilt.
They have perpetuated colonialism at home and abroad.
They have participated in the torture and murder of innocent civilians overseas.
They continue to create weapons of mass destruction in order to receive government ontracts.*

To the people of the world, We, the New York City General Assembly occupying Wall Street in Liberty Square, urge you to assert your power.

Exercise your right to peaceably assemble; occupy public space; create a process to address the problems we face, and generate solutions accessible to everyone.

To all communities that take action and form groups in the spirit of direct democracy, we offer support, documentation, and all of the resources at our disposal.

Join us and make your voices heard!

The performance during foreplay is spoiled since the erection of the cialis without prescriptions penile region does not become hard and rigid while making love. Their roles and responsibilities include providing help in the treatment and prevention of physical disabilities, movement viagra soft tabs click these guys dysfunction and pain resulting from disease, injury, disability, or other health related conditions. Take time for yourself and go for regular checkups weekly or monthly. levitra pharmacy purchase http://www.tonysplate.com/blog/index.php?blogid=1&archive=2010-03 Causes Of Psoriasis The reason psoriasis buy soft cialis occurs is unknown.