Veterans Day weekend is upon us here in the United States; nominally we pause on November 11 each year to remember and honor each of the 22 million men and women served in the Armed Forces of the United States. There are 22 million living veterans in the United States. Each has their own history, […]
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Community, Children, and Comcast
“Internet for $9.95″ caught my eye as I strolled through Wordstock at the Oregon Convention Center two weeks ago. I couldn’t resist inquiring about the deal since me, and most of us, pay a bit more than that for Internet access. I met Andrea Sargeant a Comcast Government Affairs Specialist who was promoting the $9.95 […]
Frugality, Fish, and Public Trust
Just when I thought I was finished writing about the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) along comes a new piece of news. In my last two posts I gave my opinion on BPA’s funding the update of a laser light show at Grand Coulee Dam. The free show runs during the summer tourist season; the costs […]
Frugality, Public Trust, and Money
In my last post I offered my opinion that spending US $1.6 million to upgrade a free laser light show at Grand Coulee Dam was inappropriate. (Frugality, a Laser Light Show, and Food Stamps). In addition I opined that responsible parties at the Bonneville Power Administration and Bureau of Reclamation just don’t get it. This […]
Frugality, a Laser Light Show, and Food Stamps
As soon as I begin to believe I’ve seen or heard just about everything I’m proven wrong again. A recent Oregonian carried the announcement that the Grand Coulee Dam was updating its laser light show for a US $1.6 million dollars. The 36 minute show is projected against the water as it rushes across the […]
Food Stamps, Cotton, and Brazil
The US House of Representatives’ Agriculture Committee has approved the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2012 (HR 6083) and sent it to the full House for approval. This is the much awaited farm bill that will guide spending on crop insurance and subsidies, SNAP (food stamps), forests, and the US Department of […]
Somalia
On Friday, June 8, 2012, National Public Radio’s Morning Edition broadcast the news (originating with the BBC) that Somalia now had a dry cleaning business. And oh so tongue in check noted that the various warlords and al-Qaida-linked militants probably didn’t need a dry cleaners over the years in this failed state. Ms. Montagne suggested the […]
Flip the Bush Tax Cuts
The Bush Tax Cuts (“Tax Breaks for the Wealthy”) will expire on December 31, 2012. The two income tax cuts in 2001 and 2003 and extended under President Obama in 2011 are estimated to have cost about 3 trillion (T) dollars so far. Yesterday, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) offered up a report suggesting the expiration […]
Raptors and Irony
The irony struck me this week when I read Lockheed Martin’s announcement that it had delivered the 195th and final F-22 Raptor aircraft to the US Air Force. That came about the same time as two F-22 pilots appeared on 60 Minutes last Sunday reporting problems with the airplane’s oxygen system. They report many pilots […]
