An Angry Mop

For regular readers of this blog, you might recall the little sing-song phrase our son came up with a few short years ago after attending (with us) a BZA meeting that, in my humble opinion, carelessly trampled on the rights of citizens throughout this area.

He (our son) was only 3 yrs. old at the time.

In a sweet child-like voice, he sat at his computer singing over and over:

"An angry mop! An angry mop! An angry mop!"

You see, he had overheard the phrase "an angry mob" at the meeting and with childlike innocence and glee, converted the phrase into a cartoon that stuck in his head... creating the small song that has lingered in my mind ever since.

I bring it up today because I'm thinking that's what we may need soon...

It will take "an angry mop" to clean up the mess.

You see, few taxpayers realize the full extent of the pledges our Government has made to supposedly fix the financial system and jump start the economy. We hear numbers like $1 or $2 Trillion here, $838 Billion there. What's the tally, really?

According to a recent Bloomberg story: We're on the hook for $9.7 trillion!

And that's before Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's vague plan for the remaining TARP funds and new TALF plan.

To give you some idea of what $9.7 Trillion could do:

The $9.7 trillion in pledges would be enough to send a $1,430 check to every man, woman and child alive in the world. It's 13 times what the U.S. has spent so far on wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to Congressional Budget Office data, and is almost enough to pay off every home mortgage loan in the U.S., calculated at $10.5 trillion by the Federal Reserve. [link]

Think about it.

Seriously.

Just think about it for a minute.

Now...

You and I both know what happens when you use your credit card too much, or you need to borrow funds to pay for that emergency that came out of the blue, or...

We can't keep robbing Peter to pay Paul.

Eventually, even friends and family can't help.

Sooner or later, we have to pay for it.

The payment for this latest Stimulus Spending Bill will begin in approximately 10 years -- long after the current administration is gone. In addition, the deficits it creates during its term(s?) will be added to the balance. They have this endless pot (pit?) to pull from and don't really have to worry about paying for any of it.

Because, as they've reminded us several times over the past several weeks, they won.

"We won." the President says.

"We won." Pelosi says.

"We won." Several other Dems and their PR reps gleefully exclaim.

"We won." Millions of voters cried out with tears streaming down their faces.

Who lost?

The Republicans?

Get a grip, people.

For those of you getting your water from the watershed below Mattoon, Illinois... in about 30 years or less, you might have acid running through your pipes and into your homes thanks to this new Bill that shovels $2 Billion into that particular project that I've already called to your attention.

You don't want to listen? Then it's your problem.

It's not gonna happen?

Yeah. Okay... Guess you don't recall the small vibrations felt throughout the State after the teeny earthquake of late. Some of us discovered the fault line running through this region... and we care -- a lot -- about what could happen 1.3 miles underground.

Some don't care.

That's what makes those of us who really do care so frustrated, and yes, even angry.

Reminds me of another song.

"We didn't start the fire."

But, when the time comes, we're all going to be working really hard to put it out.

Maybe we shouldn't care, either?

Maybe we should just step right up and take a sip of that thar' koolaide y'all bin drinkin' lately.

Senator Schumer says the American people don't care about the pork built into the Bill.

I'd hate to make a man like that right.

So I guess this little work at home mom will just have to stand by, ready and waiting, with her mop.

Because there's going to be one hellacious mess to clean up.

Drugs in our Water

The Barbara Cox video interviews are now posted over at the Bloomington Alternative (link), in which Barb makes a very important point with respect to water:

"What's in my backyard today is in your backyard tomorrow."

The Barbara Cox interviews were taped before the BIG BOMB dropped regarding water supplies across the country.

Here's what I mean...

On March 10, 2008, the Associated Press released some of the details of an intensive 5 month study of the nation's water supplies -- and they came up with some startling results:

A vast array of pharmaceuticals — including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones — have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans, an Associated Press investigation shows.

...And while researchers do not yet understand the exact risks from decades of persistent exposure to random combinations of low levels of pharmaceuticals, recent studies — which have gone virtually unnoticed by the general public — have found alarming effects on human cells and wildlife. (link to full story)

Here's the kicker...

The federal government doesn't require any testing and hasn't set safety limits for drugs in water. Of the 62 major water providers contacted, the drinking water for only 28 was tested. Among the 34 that haven't: Houston, Chicago, Miami, Baltimore, Phoenix, Boston and New York City's Department of Environmental Protection, which delivers water to 9 million people.

And don't, for one minute, think that all of this only has to do with human drugs entering the water supply.

In the United States, the problem isn't confined to surface waters. Pharmaceuticals also permeate aquifers deep underground, source of 40 percent of the nation's water supply. Federal scientists who drew water in 24 states from aquifers near contaminant sources such as landfills and animal feed lots found minuscule levels of hormones, antibiotics and other drugs.

Of particular concern, the news article highlighted this:

Human waste isn't the only source of contamination. Cattle, for example, are given ear implants that provide a slow release of trenbolone, an anabolic steroid used by some bodybuilders, which causes cattle to bulk up. But not all the trenbolone circulating in a steer is metabolized. A German study showed 10 percent of the steroid passed right through the animals.

Water sampled downstream of a Nebraska feedlot had steroid levels four times as high as the water taken upstream. Male fathead minnows living in that downstream area had low testosterone levels and small heads.

This news comes at a time when the...

EPA is proposing a voluntary option for CAFOs to certify to the permitting authority that they do not discharge or propose to discharge and therefore do not need NPDES permit coverage. (link)

Seems to me that there is a WHOLE LOT OF GOVERNMENT HOUSECLEANING needed. Our tax dollars are paying these people to do ...what, exactly?

Don't think you've heard the end of this. The news is heightening worries among scientists of long-term consequences to human health.

"Tick. Tock" Time will tell.