If a business intentionally includes false or misleading information in their advertising they can be charged and held liable for publishing that information in order to mislead the consumer. Why is it that when politicians and political organizations do the same their actions fall under free speech and they are not held responsible for their lies?
If they have a legitimate difference of opinion, fine. All I ask is that they back it up with facts and not out of context sound clips and quotes. If your argument can"t stand up to the light of day and be backed up by facts don't attempt to make it. The practice of editing text or video to give a false impression of what was actually said should be held to the same standard as false advertising claims.
I've had enough of this B.S. If the political interests in this country really want the respect and the votes of the people the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth would be a welcome change.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Monday, March 14, 2011
Thoughts on Nuclear Power
In light of the ongoing situation in Japan many people are rethinking the safety of nuclear energy as a source of electrical power. Many fear it and many welcome it but most do not really understand it. All nuclear reactors are not created equal nor are do they all operate in same way. That they all use nuclear fission to create heat is all they have in common. Methods of capturing that heat, cooling the reactor, the types and quality of the fuels required and the internal configurations of the reactors themselves can vary greatly.
Please do not judge the entire industry by what you hear in the media. They are not explaining the differences between reactor designs and fuels at all.
Sodium cooled reactors are perhaps the most dangerous design. Liquid Sodium is used as the primary coolant and if you remember what happened in high school science when you put a small amount of sodium, a liquid metal, into a beaker of water, you get the point. Boom! This is the type of reactor that was used in Chernobyl. This was also the type of reactor that Fermi 1 in Michigan was. It suffered a partial meltdown in 1966. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium-cooled_fast_reactor
The Japanese design, along with most American designs is what is called a boiling water reactor. They are also called light water reactors. They are cheaper to build but need enriched fuel to operate. Should the water level over the fuel fall to low, that fuel will overheat and the resulting chain reaction can cause that fuel to melt and result in the "melt down" we all hear about and fear. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_water_reactor
Some reactors are called pressure reactors. Like the Canadian CANDU design, the reactor core heats water in a sealed high pressure vessel and produces super heated water but not steam. This super heated water is used to heat water to generate the steam to run the generator. In this case the water coolant used is often what is know as deuterium or heavy water. This design is more expensive to build due to the heavy water, but can operate on almost any fuel, even raw unrefined uranium. It can also burn the spent fuel from boiling water reactors. Because the fuel is generally a low grade it cannot sustain a chain reaction on its own and thus will not "melt Down" as in other designs. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CANDU_reactor
I don't pretend to understand the mechanisms of the fission process but I do know that some designs are inherently more safe than others and we must strive to develop and implement the safest technologies we can find.
Nuclear power is not the answer to our energy needs but it must be a part of the equation.
Please do not judge the entire industry by what you hear in the media. They are not explaining the differences between reactor designs and fuels at all.
Sodium cooled reactors are perhaps the most dangerous design. Liquid Sodium is used as the primary coolant and if you remember what happened in high school science when you put a small amount of sodium, a liquid metal, into a beaker of water, you get the point. Boom! This is the type of reactor that was used in Chernobyl. This was also the type of reactor that Fermi 1 in Michigan was. It suffered a partial meltdown in 1966. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium-cooled_fast_reactor
The Japanese design, along with most American designs is what is called a boiling water reactor. They are also called light water reactors. They are cheaper to build but need enriched fuel to operate. Should the water level over the fuel fall to low, that fuel will overheat and the resulting chain reaction can cause that fuel to melt and result in the "melt down" we all hear about and fear. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_water_reactor
Some reactors are called pressure reactors. Like the Canadian CANDU design, the reactor core heats water in a sealed high pressure vessel and produces super heated water but not steam. This super heated water is used to heat water to generate the steam to run the generator. In this case the water coolant used is often what is know as deuterium or heavy water. This design is more expensive to build due to the heavy water, but can operate on almost any fuel, even raw unrefined uranium. It can also burn the spent fuel from boiling water reactors. Because the fuel is generally a low grade it cannot sustain a chain reaction on its own and thus will not "melt Down" as in other designs. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CANDU_reactor
I don't pretend to understand the mechanisms of the fission process but I do know that some designs are inherently more safe than others and we must strive to develop and implement the safest technologies we can find.
Nuclear power is not the answer to our energy needs but it must be a part of the equation.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
My opinions are not unique
Please Watch! Excuse some of the language. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rx4GSlSt7Jc
Friday, March 11, 2011
Fascism in Michigan?
Are more rights being trampled on? Anyone with common sense would think so!
Michigan's Legislature and new Governor are trying to ram through major changes to Michigan law that could take away voter rights with regard to their city governments and school districts. Just because the Republicans control both houses and the Governor's office does not mean that they should be allowed to follow Wisconsin's lead and ram through any piece of garbage they want to!
This Financial Manager law rewrite would allow the Governor to appoint an Emergency Financial Manager to any city his administration feels is in financial trouble. This manager would have the authority to break union contracts, hire and fire any employee and dismiss the elected official of the affected cities and/or school districts at will, regardless of the will of the voters.
This is a blatant violation the the rights guaranteed in the Constitution and must not be allowed to stand. These actions fit what I read in the definition of Fascism found on Wikipedia or any where else. Please read my last post about this subject. Read the definition from the link I provided in that post and feel free make up your own mind and feel free to leave comments for all to read.
http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpp/news/politics/local_politics/michigan-senate-passes-emergency-manager-bills-20110309-mr
Michigan's Legislature and new Governor are trying to ram through major changes to Michigan law that could take away voter rights with regard to their city governments and school districts. Just because the Republicans control both houses and the Governor's office does not mean that they should be allowed to follow Wisconsin's lead and ram through any piece of garbage they want to!
This Financial Manager law rewrite would allow the Governor to appoint an Emergency Financial Manager to any city his administration feels is in financial trouble. This manager would have the authority to break union contracts, hire and fire any employee and dismiss the elected official of the affected cities and/or school districts at will, regardless of the will of the voters.
This is a blatant violation the the rights guaranteed in the Constitution and must not be allowed to stand. These actions fit what I read in the definition of Fascism found on Wikipedia or any where else. Please read my last post about this subject. Read the definition from the link I provided in that post and feel free make up your own mind and feel free to leave comments for all to read.
http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpp/news/politics/local_politics/michigan-senate-passes-emergency-manager-bills-20110309-mr
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Wisconsin Fascism?
Many protesters during the federal healthcare debates, in the same breath, called President Obama both a socialist and a fascist. How little do they understand how opposed these two political philosophies really are. If you want to see fascism in action you need look no further than this evening's actions by the Republicans in the Wisconsin legislature.
Read Wikipedia's article on Fascism and make up your own mind on what you see. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facism
Conservatives and especially the Tea Party rail against what they term as Fascism while in reality their brand of conservatism is nothing more than the very philosophy that they purport to oppose. The rights of the people as defined in the constitution have been trampled on as never before. Let your state and federal official know that these actions can not be allowed to stand. The party that claims to stand for and defend the constitution does nothing but flout it at every turn. Their actions are both unconstitutional and indefensible.
Read Wikipedia's article on Fascism and make up your own mind on what you see. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facism
Conservatives and especially the Tea Party rail against what they term as Fascism while in reality their brand of conservatism is nothing more than the very philosophy that they purport to oppose. The rights of the people as defined in the constitution have been trampled on as never before. Let your state and federal official know that these actions can not be allowed to stand. The party that claims to stand for and defend the constitution does nothing but flout it at every turn. Their actions are both unconstitutional and indefensible.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Utility Lack of Regulation
Aside from food, shelter, transportation and health insurance, one of the largest houshold expenses is energy. My question today is why are some sources of energy subject to government regulation and others not? Electricity and natural gas are regulated while propane and home heating oil are not. Why not?
Should not home heating oil and propane also have some form of price regulation? When used for home heating why is propane treated any differently than natural gas? Home heating oil is likely the most the most volatile of these energy sources due to oil price fluctuations but should the consumer have some sort of protection from wild price swings in home energy costs? Often those affected the most by these swings are in older homes, the northeast states and rural areas. The residents of these areas who are poor or on fixed incomes are especially vulnerable to these commodity price swings. Even with various assistance programs available, this volatility can often still make these energy souces unaffordable to the people who are forced to rely on them.
The question is simple, can we or should we institute regulation on the prices of home heating oil, propane and other sources of energy, when used for home heating purposes?
Should not home heating oil and propane also have some form of price regulation? When used for home heating why is propane treated any differently than natural gas? Home heating oil is likely the most the most volatile of these energy sources due to oil price fluctuations but should the consumer have some sort of protection from wild price swings in home energy costs? Often those affected the most by these swings are in older homes, the northeast states and rural areas. The residents of these areas who are poor or on fixed incomes are especially vulnerable to these commodity price swings. Even with various assistance programs available, this volatility can often still make these energy souces unaffordable to the people who are forced to rely on them.
The question is simple, can we or should we institute regulation on the prices of home heating oil, propane and other sources of energy, when used for home heating purposes?
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