There are many things that are illegal to do in public. You can not go around screaming in people's faces. You can not urinate or defecate in public. You are not allowed to carry around a flaming torch or set fire to things.
Smokers drop their butts all over the place. They could smoke in their own back yards or houses.
Smoking a foul and dangerous habit. It should be done in private.
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
No more gas powered yard machines
There are electric mowers and blowers, weed whackers and edgers. We don't need to use gas powered ones.
Better yet, there are human powered ones!
Better yet, there are human powered ones!
The oil company should pay
On Saturday, a gasoline tanker truck crashed on a SF Bay highway, exploded, caused an inferno, and destroyed part of a major highway interchange.
The Oil company should pay for the repairs. They make enormous profits off of the sale of gasoline. They truck the stuff around everywhere at all hours of the day and night. This is their risk. This is their mess.
Our lives will be disrupted for months. We should not have to pay for the repairs. We should even file a class action lawsuit to get reparations from the oil company.
The Oil company should pay for the repairs. They make enormous profits off of the sale of gasoline. They truck the stuff around everywhere at all hours of the day and night. This is their risk. This is their mess.
Our lives will be disrupted for months. We should not have to pay for the repairs. We should even file a class action lawsuit to get reparations from the oil company.
Saturday, December 16, 2006
GITMO
The Guantanamo detention center is like a microcosm of the War on Terrorism. Many of the prisoners are most likely undeserving of punishment, much less dangerous terrorists. Information is not provided by the US. Human rights are being trampled. People are dying. All this stuff is counterproductive at best. And the bush administration pretends that it is an important front in the War on Terrorism. Hogwash.
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Batteries should be more expensive
I just saw a deal on batteries. Regardless of if that is about a mistake that was corrected... Batteries should be more expensive. It is now illegal to throw batteries in the garbage in California. So people buy these for peanuts and clearly they are going to just throw them out. It is no use going through their garbage, because that would cost too much, and people would just throw them out in public trash bins. The battery industry needs to provide for disposal, and pay for it with higher prices. That is the only way to keep this toxic waste out of the general garbage.
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Top Secret
Classification of information in the US has been a part of several big news stories recently - the Plame case, the wiretapping debacle, and the tracking of financial transactions. One thing I take away from this is that I think classification should not be allowed to be used to cover up illegal activities or for solely political purposes.
It should be part of the classification law that if the information is classified for the purpose of covering up a crime or the classification of it is simply for political purposes, that classification should be invalid. Furthermore, it should not be illegal for someone to leak classified information that reveals a crime or is classified solely for political purposes. The burden of proof should be on the classifiers.
It should be clear to everyone that too much information is classified. This should take care of that.
It should be part of the classification law that if the information is classified for the purpose of covering up a crime or the classification of it is simply for political purposes, that classification should be invalid. Furthermore, it should not be illegal for someone to leak classified information that reveals a crime or is classified solely for political purposes. The burden of proof should be on the classifiers.
It should be clear to everyone that too much information is classified. This should take care of that.
The Cheney Doctrine
I heard a radio show on NPR yesterday about "The Cheney Doctrine", which apparently is "if there is a 1% chance of intelligence on terror, then we must take action." I have 2 things to say about this:
1. It depends a lot on how good their intelligence is (and I have no real knowledge of how good their intelligence is, but news reports over the past few years suggest it is not so good), and how many reports of terror activity they get.
2. It depends a lot on what action they take. Bombing a house is different from sending in someone to check it out and perhaps try to arrest someone.
Depending on these two things, this approach could either make us safer, or make us a lot less safe.
1. It depends a lot on how good their intelligence is (and I have no real knowledge of how good their intelligence is, but news reports over the past few years suggest it is not so good), and how many reports of terror activity they get.
2. It depends a lot on what action they take. Bombing a house is different from sending in someone to check it out and perhaps try to arrest someone.
Depending on these two things, this approach could either make us safer, or make us a lot less safe.
Sunday, July 02, 2006
Why "Terrorists" hate us
Because of our freedoms? Yeah, right. That's just plain stupid. They hate us because we supported them and then abandoned them when the going got tough. They hate us because we bomb their mothers, fathers, children, siblings, and friends. They hate us because we are powerful, and we abuse that power. Still doesn't justify what they do.
Time Is Not Money
Sure, we pay for time, or we make money based on time, but we can also pay for other things. It does not mean they "are" money. Time is time. Money is money. They are both resources. Use them wisely.
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