Kokomo's Population

The Kokomo Tribune carried a story on May 23rd about population in North Central Indiana. The subhead said, “North central area as a whole continues to lose people”. Migration has been toward larger cities and away from smaller communities and rural areas. Why? Jobs!
Kokomo seems to be bucking the tide for now. Since 2010, Kokomo has actually gained people; only 35, but a gain. The population of Kokomo is now 56,895 with the county at 82,760; a gain of 8 from 2010. The key here has been Chrysler. Period.
There are implications for even a steady state, let alone a decline in population. The biggest implication is that there is no need to expand construction of home or commercial building into surrounding agriculture land. The goal should be to use only land that has already been residential or commercial. Fertile farm land is precious and limited in size. North Central Indiana is blessed to have land that is virtually perfect for growing crops or pasturing animals. So, hopefully, our governing bodies will recognize this and prevent zoning changes that turn agriculture land into residential and commercial sprawl. There simply is no need.

AG-Gag

The secrecy agents are at it again. Senator Travis Holdman, a Republican from over around Wells County has introduced at the Indiana General Assembly Senate Bill 101. This bill is also known as the “AG-GAG” bill. Its purpose is to keep secret all of the questionable practices of farmers in raising animals or crops, many of which wind up on the tables of Indiana families. It is known that some of the practices of confinement feeding of pigs, cattle and chickens are abominable. It is just that the farmers who engage in such practices want them kept secret. They want the public to be kept ignorant.
This type of legislation was introduced in the last session of the Indiana General Assembly and did not make it through to the governor’s desk. Hopefully, this will be the fate of this attempt at censorship. Hiding only confirms wrong doing. Think about it. If you are doing things you think would be judged wrong by the public, the only way to keep doing them is to hide them, keep them secret. Otherwise, an informed public may require change. Those that support this bill are proposing secrecy. Those supporters do not belong in positions of public trust because they betray that trust.
Several other states have passed such legislation. The bills are aimed directly at whistleblowers. It criminalizes whistleblowing. Whistleblowing employees have played a vital role in exposing animal abuse, unsafe working conditions, and environmental problems in industrial style farming operations. There are already adequate laws on the books to prevent or penalize misbehavior around private property. No more laws are needed particularly if hiding acts and practices the public needs to know about are what they do. The “AG-GAG” bill needs to die a not-so-quiet death.
States having AG-GAG laws already on the books include Iowa, Utah, North Dakota, Montana, and Kansas. Guess where the most livestock is raised. Shame on them.

Political War

Is it any surprise that we have political leaders that conduct wars for political gain as Robert Gates, former Secretary of Defense, says in his new book! This is not exclusive to one political party or another. Both Democrats and Republicans are guilty. The last war to really save our freedoms was World War II. Since then, none.

Korea in the 1950’s. That was one for the books. Thousands of lives later, we have a “truce” at the 48th parallel. During the fighting, our political leaders would not let the military fight for a win. Their hands were tied. We were afraid of China coming into the conflict. One wonders why we were there in the first place and what, ultimately, was accomplished. There was nothing there that threatened our national security.

Then came Viet Nam. Another one for the books. The “Domino Theory” at work. Our wise political leaders concluded that if we let Viet Nam go to communism, there would be a march of communism on across the globe. The French got out. We were there for years and years with great loss of life and no win. Ultimately, our country decided it was not worth it and left. I can see photos of the last helicopters leaving the US Embassy in my mind. Again, nothing there that really threatened our national security.

Then 9/11 and the Twin Towers came down. This gave George H.W. Bush the excuse to attack Saddam Hussein and Iraq. Admittedly, Hussein was a tyrant over the country and the people therein, but Iraq had nothing to do with the attack on the twin towers. Bush and Cheney used that tragedy as an excuse. The reason is contained in one word, “oil”. Otherwise, we had and have no interest in that country. And Hussein sure was no threat to our national security. He had no “weapons of mass destruction” and even if he did, no means to deliver them. We lost or maimed hundreds of troops in Iraq. Look what is happening there now: civil war between the Sunnis and Shiites. Was the cost to us in lives and money worth it? Our focus should have been on the capturing or killing of Osama Bin Laden who was no where near Iraq. Shame on Bush and Cheney.

Now we are still bogged down in Afghanistan. The Russians were there for ten years before us. They went home with some help to the Afgans from us. Then we decided to “save” the country from the Taliban. We have been there now for over ten years with no end in sight. Again, nothing to gain and only to lose or maim hundreds of our troops. Afghanistan is no threat to our national security. They have no air force and no navy capable of reaching North America. What are we doing there? Afghanistan issues should be the concern of and cost for Pakistan and India and maybe even Japan, not us. Shame on Bush, Cheney, and now President Barack Obama.

I have adopted the attitude of Pat Buchanan, a political conservative. He thinks we stick our nose into way too many places around the globe. We act like the global “policeman” and “savior”. We are neither. Buchanan believes more in a fortress America philosophy. Yes, attack our enemies world wide when they are identified and are true threats, but stay out of local conflicts and do not get engaged in lengthy ground wars or conflicts. Makes perfect sense to me. We need to tend to business at home.

Our position should be to have a military so superior in capability that no other nation on earth would ever challenge it. It is to carry the biggest sword and not have to use it. Beyond that, to mind our own business and let other nations work out their own destinies. In case no one has noticed, we are broke. We need to concentrate on getting this country back to health monetarily, economically, scientifically, and politically. Nothing short of this will do. Otherwise, our time in the sun is limited.

General Mills Got It

It took only 40,000 Facebook posts on General Mills Facebook page to get them to respond. Cheerios, the top selling cereal in the United States, is GMO free. The company says that original Cheerios are made using only non-GMO corn and that the sugar is from pure, non-GMO cane sugar. The primary grain in Cherrios is oats and there are no GMO oats being grown. What corn involved has been corn starch.

GMO free Cheerios
GMO free Cheerios

The big deal here is that this giant food company responded publicly to calls from consumers for non-GMO products. The voices in the market are getting louder. People first want to know if GMO’s are in foods they buy and, secondly, when they know foods are GMO free, they prefer them.
The dam has, indeed, been broken with this announcement from General Mills. Watch, there will be movement toward other foods being touted as “GMO-Free”. Ultimately, the big chemical/seed companies will not win this battle.

Political War

Is it any surprise that we have political leaders that conduct wars for political gain as Robert Gates, former Secretary of Defense, says in his new book! This is not exclusive to one political party or another. Both Democrats and Republicans are guilty. The last war to really save our freedoms was World War II. Since then, none.
Korea in the 1950’s. That was one for the books. Thousands of lives later, we have a “truce” at the 48th parallel. During the fighting, our political leaders would not let the military fight for a win. Their hands were tied. We were afraid of China coming into the conflict. One wonders why we were there in the first place and what, ultimately, was accomplished. There was nothing there that threatened our national security.
Then came Viet Nam. Another one for the books. The “Domino Theory” at work. Our wise political leaders concluded that if we let Viet Nam go to communism, there would be a march of communism on across the globe. The French got out. We were there for years and years with great loss of life and no win. Ultimately, our country decided it was not worth it and left. I can see photos of the last helicopters leaving the US Embassy in my mind. Again, nothing there that really threatened our national security.
Then 9/11 and the Twin Towers came down. This gave George H.W. Bush the excuse to attack Saddam Hussein and Iraq. Admittedly, Hussein was a tyrant over the country and the people therein, but Iraq had nothing to do with the attack on the twin towers. Bush and Cheney used that tragedy as an excuse. The reason is contained in one word, “oil”. Otherwise, we had and have no interest in that country. And Hussein sure was no threat to our national security. He had no “weapons of mass destruction” and even if he did, no means to deliver them. We lost or maimed hundreds of troops in Iraq. Look what is happening there now: civil war between the Sunnis and Shiites. Was the cost to us in lives and money worth it? Our focus should have been on the capturing or killing of Osama Bin Laden who was no where near Iraq. Shame on Bush and Cheney.
Now we are still bogged down in Afghanistan. The Russians were there for ten years before us. They went home with some help to the Afgans from us. Then we decided to “save” the country from the Taliban. We have been there now for over ten years with no end in sight. Again, nothing to gain and only to lose or maim hundreds of our troops. Afghanistan is no threat to our national security. They have no air force and no navy capable of reaching North America. What are we doing there? Afghanistan issues should be the concern of and cost for Pakistan and India and maybe even Japan, not us. Shame on Bush, Cheney, and now President Barack Obama.
I have adopted the attitude of Pat Buchanan, a political conservative. He thinks we stick our nose into way too many places around the globe. We act like the global “policeman” and “savior”. We are neither. Buchanan believes more in a fortress America philosophy. Yes, attack our enemies world wide when they are identified and are true threats, but stay out of local conflicts and do not get engaged in lengthy ground wars or conflicts. Makes perfect sense to me. We need to tend to business at home.
Our position should be to have a military so superior in capability that no other nation on earth would ever challenge it. It is to carry the biggest sword and not have to use it. Beyond that, to mind our own business and let other nations work out their own destinies. In case no one has noticed, we are broke. We need to concentrate on getting this country back to health monetarily, economically, scientifically, and politically. Nothing short of this will do. Otherwise, our time in the sun is limited.

Wind Farm and Birds

Duke Energy, the company that serves millions with electric energy, has agreed to pay $1,000,000 in fines after its wind turbines killed 14 golden eagles and dozens of other birds at a Wyoming wind farm. The money goes to several conservation groups.
Wind farms are high risk for birds and bats. Yes, we need to move away from burning fossil fuel to feed our ever growing thirst for more and more electric energy. In the process, we do not need to be causing additional environmental problems. Surely engineers can come up with ways to design wind energy systems that do not pose such high risk to birds and bats. Maybe the rotating blade design is not the best.
North Central Indiana currently faces the consequences of a hasty acceptance of wind farms. Tipton County is at the center of these issues. Wildlife has not been the primary complaint but rather potential effects on property values and human health have come into question. More careful steps are justified.

Cap CEO pay?

Here is something to chew on. Are Chief Executive Officers of large corporations and financial institutions really worth the tens of millions of dollars they pay themselves each year? Or are they raping the public and economy? Are they just a bunch of good-ole-boys feeding their own greed?
Years ago Japan had a formula in place by which a CEO could earn a cap of some multiplier of the lowest paid person in a company. I don’t know if this is still the case. There are some current data for Germany. Twenty five years ago the ratio of top earner to bottom was about 20 to 1. So a person earning, say, $25,000, per year could expect the company CEO to earn no more than about $500,000 a year. But something has changed. In Germany now, the ratio is more like 200 to 1; so the $500,000 cap has become $5,000,000 a year.
Frankly, I do not believe anyone is worth 10 or 15 or 20 million dollars a year. I don’t care what company they head. It is my opinion that the CEO’s and Boards of Directors in this country have become so inbred that they have lost touch with ordinary people. They serve only themselves, really.

Mass Immigration in Britain

Unless we wake up, the USA could go the way of Britain.
There is an article in the December 6th issue of The Week magazine that tells the tale. In less than 20 years, the foreign-born population in Great Britain has nearly doubled. This change was never predicted, explained, planned for , or voted on by its politicians according to the article. In January 2014, Bulgarians and Romanians will be allowed to settle freely in the GB. No one knows how many will come.
When Poland joined the EU in 2004, the government predicted 13,000 immigrants per year from there. That would be about 117,000 in total to date, but within only five years the number was a half a million.
The big bite to swallow in Great Britain is that after arrival and settlement of only three months, all immigrants are eligible for unemployment and subsidized housing….. and other government, taxpayer benefits. Sound familiar?
The current allowed level of legal immigration into the United States is running about 110,000 per month. That is 1,320,000 per year. With economic conditions as they are here, that is not needed for sure; if ever. Before 1965, the level of legal immigration was a couple of hundred thousand per year. Action needs to be taken by our government to stabilize our population, not encourage growth in numbers forever.
 

GMO's Continued

Last week I had the opportunity to present a talk to a group in West Lafayette, IN. They were interested in knowing about the risks of genetically engineered crops. This is a pet subject of mine. I have concluded that the only benefits that come from GM crops are additions to the bottom line profit of the giant companies that both provide the seed and then sell the herbicide for weed control. The crop is “engineered” to withstand normally lethal doses of the herbicide. Until recently, weeds were killed and corn or soy beans or cotton plants survived to harvest. Now, superweeds are becoming a major problem. The answer: the chemical companies want to offer more potent toxins to kill weeds and engineer the crops to be able to take the more lethal poisons and survive. The wheel turns, ever escalating to more and more environmental damage with no end in sight.
Elements of the genetically engineered crops and harvest from them are finding their way directly or indirectly into the human food system. Genes can transfer and pesticides are chemicals that can bioaccumulate or screw around with human hormones causing damage. The effects can be acute or chronic. They can come on quickly or may take years. Kind of reminds one of the story of tobacco, doesn’t it? The industry denies any harm, only good. Time will tell. Then it may be too late because calling back engineered genes from our environment is simply not possible.

The 19

There were 19 firefighters lost fighting a fire in Arizona this week. They were consumed by smoke and fire as they attempted to prevent fire from destroying homes in a small subdivision. No home is worth 19 lives.
These firefighters were among the most highly trained in the nation. Many had come from a military background. All were trained to the highest level possible and were dedicated to their work. They were not just a team but a family that looked after each others’ backs. They were cautious and safety conscious, but nature got the best of them. The perfect storm came in the form of a huge fire combined with the winds of a thunderstorm. They became trapped with no escape. Aircraft water drops were made where the pilots thought the firefighters might be, but even that was in vain given visibility was zero.
This tragedy was in fact brought on by years of government policy of preventing forest fires. One report said that no burn had occurred in this area for over 40 years. The policy of the US Forest Service for decades was zero tolerance for forest fires. This was incredibly stupid in that it allowed debris to accumulate on the forest floors just waiting for the big one. The policy has changed in recent years to one of controlled burns. But this policy obviously did not make it to this part of Arizona. Nineteen brave and dedicated souls lost their lives.
Two points occur to me. The first is that humans don’t seem to get that building of homes should not occur in some areas where fire or flood or landslide or other high risks of serious natural events might occur is wise. Those that do build should be on their own. Secondly, safety policies should be reviewed continuously. Again, no home or subdivision is worth even one life.