5 Things Chicago Needs to Fix Now

Anyone who has lived in the Chicago area long enough to consider their self a 'resident' could easily rattle off 10-20 things they think need-a-fixin' in this town. The following are just my top five at the moment.

Number 5

"Legislative Districts"

I'm putting this at number five because it bugs me, I think they're outdated and inappropriate. But I also know that there's a better chance of Archer Ave getting straigtened out first.

If you look at a map of Chicago's legislative districts it'll be pretty self-explainatory. They have to be the most ridiculous, shady, corrupt districts in America. They get defined in private meetings and "deals" between representatives for the main purpose of getting re-elected and preserving power. They serve little, if any, benefit to the residents and businesses of Chicago. Usually, I would claim, the opposite is true.

Number 4

"Expressways and Interchanges"

A major interchange in the heart of Chicago was once listed among the top 10 things in America that need to be addressed. The complex mix of bottle necks, lane changes, ramps, confusing signs, and just pure danger that the average rush-hour driver encounters on the "expressways" of Chicago is quite honestly enough to drive a person insane. (No pun intended!) There should be an 800 number for a 'road-rage' hotline printed on the back of every driver's license issued within 40 miles of Chicago. These roads, which always seem to be under construction, are at least one or two lanes narrower than they should have been 10 years ago. Too many drivers plus not enough road equals bad news. 

I used to have a 17 mile commute into the city every day. A drive which could be as quick as 15 minutes without traffic, would commonly take one to two hours between 2pm and 7pm. Any city with a five to six hour "rush hour" has a problem that seriously needs addressing.

Obama, you want to invest in fixing roads? How about starting in your hometown...

Number 3

Street Cleaning Signs

I swear I remember a time when there were standard, metal signs posted that clearly stated when you could not parked on a street due to normally scheduled street cleaning. What happened to them? Instead, Chicago decided to implement a system of temporary signs to serve this purpose. What happens is the night before they want to clean the road, a mass of city workers canvass the streets and tie paper signs to trees and poles that state no one can park there the following day. Then, that next morning (usually around 9am!) droves of cops with ticket books in hand patrol those areas and leave $50 tickets on the cars of people who didn't even know that they weren't supposed to park there!

What a scam. Sounds illegal doesn't it? Should be. Not to mention who decided that tons, literally TONS of paper signs should be used instead of permanent (re-usable) ones. This doesn't seem very eco-friendly. Especially since most of the paper signs get ripped down by upset, recently ticketed car owners and just thrown on the ground. In fact, it sounds like a huge waste of environmental resources. Which brings me to number 2...

Number 2

"Recycling"

Almost everybody in America has a little rectangular bin that they put out along with their garbage once a week. In that bin we place all items that we seperate out for recycling. This has been available and working for over 10 years in most of the country. But in the 3rd largest city in America what do we do? NOTHING! That's right, nothing. There exists no recycling program for the City of Chicago. Oh, they tried an ill-conceived program a few years ago. This program involved placing recyclables in these over-priced 'blue-bags' and setting them out with the rest of the trash. Unfortunately, there were never any special "recycling trucks" to pick up these bags. So the regular gargage trucks would have to collect them and just threw them in with the rest of the gargbage. At that point, all of it (blue bags AND Hefty bags) recycleable and garbage-garbage, all went to the same place. That's right, the landfill. After perpetrating this scam on the Chicago people for over 10 years, they finally faced facts and ended the rouse a few years ago. 

...Still waiting for a refund on all those expensive blue bags that ended up in the landfills.

Number 1

"Clean Energy"

I had touched on this topic in previous articles posted here and here. And with a little online research I've found that there is some legislation in place to give some tax incentives to Chicagoans who install solar panels on their property. However, I beleive a lot more can and should be done to promote this city's transistion to 'green' energy sources. There are so many possible ideas to help propigate this. Perhaps we could start with just a better marketing plan? Internet, TV, radio? Or considering all the time people in Chicago spend in their cars everyday, maybe enlist the use of a few of those giant billboards to educate people. A lot of people don't know about what's already in place to encourage greener energy use. There could also be more advertisement about the simple choices we can make to improve the situation. Basically I think the public officials just need to get on the same page as the general public. We are eager and willing to do what we can. Just let us know you're willing to help too, Chicago (government).

 "Help us to help you."  

"Economy... WHAT Economy?" or "How To Save America by Buying American"

I think that by now we all understand that the United States economy is in trouble. It's in the news everyday, President-Elect Obama is talking about our economy and his plans to repair it once he takes office. Businesses are "trimming the fat" by letting employees go or cancelling bonuses and "holiday parties." And retailers are pushing deep discounts to try and stir up more sales this season. 

A huge part of the problem with the economy today (probably the biggest!) is that the United States just doesn't produce and sell enough products to keep our money circulating within America. Most cars, electronics, clothing, and other consumer products are made overseas and sold here. Then OUR money goes back to those foreign companies to pay THEIR workers. And it seems this is happening as fast as the Federal Reserve can print the money!

One thing we can all do to help our economy, make sure American workers keep their jobs, and strengthen the value of the U.S. dollar is to bring back an old saying:

"Buy American!"

It's great to get those wonderful electronics and the lastest fashions at those low prices that sweatshops and foreign labor laws (or lack thereof) enable. But we can all clearly see now that a few dollars saved here and there turns into a huge recession in the long run.

We NEED to support those companies that still reside in America. We NEED to buy their products and services. This is the only way the American economy is going to survive over the long-term.

"But HOW do I buy American?" 

This an unfortunately valid question these days. Especially considering that practically every label you find at most large department stores say, "Made In {insert foreign country name here}" Foreign products are being pushed on us everywhere we turn today. Well, ALMOST everywhere.

With a little research, internet surfing, or a mindful eye, you can help ensure that your American dollars go back to American workers. Hard working Americans trying to make a living and support their families. Again, let's bring back another old saying:

"Look For The Union Label!"

Go to stores that sell American made products. Only buy cars that are manufactured or (at least) assembled in the United States! And electronics.... well, good luck with that. But there are resources to help you find these mysterious products. Here are just a few to get you started:

http://www.americansworking.com/

http://www.madeinusaforever.com/index.html

http://www.madeinusa.org/

http://www.stillmadeinusa.com/

http://www.usab2c.com/

http://www.usstuff.com/

Or if you're feeling particularly patriotic and have an entreprenurial spirit... Perhaps you could build your own website that sells all American Made products. You'll be helping the economy, the nation, and yourself by putting that money in American workers' pockets.... as well as your own!

If we don't, this could soon be a typical day for ALL of us:

"Joe Smith started the day early having set his alarm clock (MADE IN JAPAN) for 6 a.m. While his coffeepot (MADE IN CHINA) was perking, he shaved with his electric razor (MADE IN HONG KONG). He put on a dress shirt (MADE IN SRI LANKA), designer jeans (MADE IN SINGAPORE) and tennis shoes (MADE IN KOREA). After cooking his breakfast in his new electric skillet (MADE IN INDIA) he sat down with his calculator (MADE IN MEXICO) to see how much he could spend today. After setting his watch (MADE IN TAIWAN) to the radio (MADE IN INDIA) he got in his car (MADE IN GERMANY) and continued his search for a good paying AMERICAN JOB. At the end of yet another discouraging and fruitless day, Joe decided to relax for a while. He put on his sandals (MADE IN BRAZIL) poured himself a glass of wine (MADE IN FRANCE) and turned on his TV (MADE IN INDONESIA), and then wondered why he can't find a good paying job in.....AMERICA....."

Obama to Invest in America's Future

There's been some negative talk about about Obama's plan to overcome our current economic crisis. His plan is targeted to created over 2 million jobs by 2011 by investing in America. He wants to build and improve roadways, bridges, public works, as well as promote development of alternative power sources. Most of the negativity comes from the predicted cost of such a plan.

In my opinion, the money's going to be spent anyway. We will dig ourselves deeper into debt. And with current spending most of it would probably go overseas, increase the deficit, and not increase America's ability to sustain a decent [much less, prosperous] economy into the future. So we might as well invest in ourselves for a change. 

It's time to think about the long-term concerns of the United States again. And it's time to be selfish, it's time to clean up our own backyard and make sure this great country of ours will last long enough to celebrate another centennial. 

Clinton Power on the Rise Again

I guess you could say that I'm a bit conflicted about the [almost certain] possibility of Hillary Clinton taking the reigns as this country's Secretary of State under the Obama administration...

On one hand I despise practically everything that the Clintons have done, currently do, and stand for. They are an ugly, power-hungry, selfish, stop-at-nothing couple of corrupt political creatures who do anything and everything to get what they want regardless of long-term collateral damage to others or the United States.

On the other hand, they are power hungry, stop-at-nothing, political creatures who accomplish [almost] everything they set out to do. So, as long as somebody else is choosing their goals for them they might prove useful in repairing the condition we find America in today. 

I say 'they' because there is no separating the two influences. Once you mention the name 'Clinton', instantly they both come to mind. (Unless you're at a P-Funk concert, perhaps?) They also live together - mostly. And the Clintons will probably be together, talk together, and travel together a lot during Hillary's duties a Secretary of State.  

They also do/have done many other things together. For example... partnering with Dubai in a 'business' venture that really benefits nobody except for the Clinton's and the Dubai government. Helping the Dubai government actually hurts a lot of other people. The more money the Prince of Dubai has, the more power he has. The more power, the more he can oppress people in his country, people of Israel, and spread his influence throughout the middle-east. 

Most of Bill Clinton's Dubai connection is through a company named 'Yucaipa' as a senior, paid advisor. Through his various business dealings and exorbitant amount of money he's received from it, Bill has essentially become a "paid agent of the crown of Dubai."  Can you say, "conflict-of-interest" boys and girls?

Or, perhaps, Obama is a genius. Perhaps he plans to exploit and control that 'relationship' by having Hillary in his cabinet. Maybe this could be a good thing? Or...  maybe she figure out a way to use this office to work on the Clinton's retirement plan and guarantee that tons of money and power are afforded them after she leaves the office. And leaves America in worse condition than she found it?

We can only watch and wait to see at this point.

Fans excited over long-awaited, new release from Tesla (Motors)!

For well over a year now I have had a sleek and sexy red roadster as my Windows wallpaper on my laptop. Most people who saw it assumed that I was a big fan of Lotus or Ferrari. But those who bothered to comment or ask me about it found out that the picture was actually of a new kind of electric car that I've been waiting to see go into regular production.

What was pictured is a 250 horsepower, rear-wheel-drive, 2-seat sports car that can accelerate from 0-60 mph in less than 4 whisper quiet seconds, can travel about 300 miles on a single charge, and can be "re-fueled" with just a few hours of being plugged in at your home.

The Tesla Roadster ,as it's called, is seriously on par with Porsche and Ferrari when it comes to style and performance. The "Roadster" boasts heated sport seats and full leather interior. A 7-speaker stereo with CD, iPod, and MP3 support. It has power windows, air conditioning, and even a retractable cup holder! Also 250 horses 'under the hood', 276 ft/lb of torque, independent suspension, anti-lock brakes, and 17-inch 7-spoke wheels. And a slew of other luxury options and accessories to appease even the highest of car buying standards. 

In the fuel-efficiency department, Tesla has no rival I can think of. This ain't your mommy's hybrid. In fact, it's not a 'hybrid' at all. This car is all electric; no gasoline at all, baby. Though, calculating approximate electricity costs versus gasoline prices and mileage... the Tesla Roadster will hit your wallet around the same as a car that gets about 135 miles per gallon! 

"Charge me, baby!"

The California based company announced November 3rd that is now in regular production of the car at a rate of about 10 per week. That number is expected to jump up to 30 per week as early as next year. Tesla, backed by the same guys who started PayPal and Google, is selling this awesome machine close to $100,000. Depending on your view of things that's either kinda pricey or a pretty good deal. I consider it the latter. However, the plan is to start making profit and drive down the costs of the technology with this high end model. After that, they intend to start producing more 'affordable' versions that will appeal more to the rest of the car buying world. I haven't seen any hard schedule as to when that might happen. But knowing what kind of brilliant minds (and money) are running things, I'd keep my eye out for Tesla Motors stores to open up in a city near you soon!

Tesla Motors - Los Angeles

My Night With 'Boston Legal' - OR - Why I Love/Hate David E. Kelley

There I was watching tonight's episode of Boston Legal, when William Shatner's character 'Denny' made reference to this being the show's last season. This upset me a little bit as I leaped forward to start searching on my laptop for verification of this horrid possibility! As I read article after article confirming the tragedy, my mind started racing with ideas of how to best compose my feelings into a decent blog posting.

Just then I heard an argument in the show that basically stated that people should vote for whomever they want, but should be able to form a clear and concise argument as to why. Having felt the exact same sentiment for the last few months (just ask any of my Facebook friends), I suddenly shifted that to be the inspiration for my next article. While putting together a few thoughts on that topic, Alan Shore (James Spader's character) listed many ridiculous reasons why people vote for certain candidates. He then summed it up with, "we vote for who we like....we're as simple as that." I thought it was a great scene. It was enjoyable, entertaining, so true, and yet something that not many TV shows could bring. It's one of things this show does well. The writer's do tend to get rather political sometimes, and from an obviously liberal position. But they do it very skillfully, entertainingly, it's always timely and current, and they usually offer some room for balanced viewpoints. 

About now is the time I hear the line, "life is merely a sum of one's experiences." This is always a good line; It's common enough we've all heard it. Yet sometimes, when considered, can lead to much contemplation and revelation about oneself. Actually, take 20 seconds and do that now. Think back shortly to what you remember most about what you've done so far in this life.

I know what pops into my mind when I do that. Maybe some of you thought about things you have yet to accomplish? ...perhaps wondering when or even if you might get to them? 

Well, the show came back from commercial into yet another cigar-smoking, scotch-sipping, dialogue between Alan and Denny. As I sat there watching the back and forth at the end of the show, as I've done nearly 100 times before, I figured out what I wanted to write about. And my original thoughts came back to me even stronger: This is a great TV show! And I'll miss it.

Boston Legal - Seasons 1-4

Only four episodes left - Watch them.

Monday nights on ABC, 9pm (Central Time)

"Green ain't just the river on St. Patrick's day!" Or "How Chicago Will Improve Burnham's Vision!"

It only took 100 years, but it seems that Chicago city planners are finally taking the last major recommendation from Daniel Burnham's plan for Chicago's lakefront. Burnham's 1909 vision is being realized in an effort to "go green."

Essentially a 2-mile long breakwater surrounding Monroe Harbor, the proposed 'Eco-Bridge' will provide; more parks & recreational space, skyline views, and  much needed 'green' electricity for Chicago.

Raised in Chicago, famed architect and urban planner Daniel Burnham has contributed immensely to the shapes and sights of the Chicago we all know today. He's to thank for the Rookery and Monadnock buildings, The Museum of Science and Technology (last remnants of 1893 World's Colombian Exposition) as well as much of the lakefront that we enjoy today.

Local design firm Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture has been charged with bringing Burnham's Plan into the 21st century. The current plan includes the addition of wind turbines to supplement the city's power supply and an observation tower to take full advantage of the gorgeous city views only possible from almost a mile off shore. There is also talk of this being the perfect location for a possible Olympic Flame in 2016?

Daley is obviously motivated by furthering Chicago's image as 'Greenest City' and hopes to fulfill his own Olympic dreams. But, being a huge fan of Burnham, Chicago, and the use of wind power, I will be excited to see this project completed with or without the added excitement of 'Chicago-2016.'

Burnham's Original 1909 Plan

Follow these links to learn more!

The Plan of Chicago: Daniel Burnham and the Remaking of the American City 

(Chicago Visions and Revisions)

Pocket Guide to Chicago Architecture

Blagojevich gets to APPOINT Obama's Replacement!?!?

WHAT??!  This guy isn't qualified to appoint a barber for Don King! How does this man have so much power?? How is he still Governor? And why is he not on his way to jail like so many other of Illinois' politicians?

First, a little background for those of you who need it. Governor "Rod" Blagojevich currently has an amazing approval rating of 13%. An approval rating lower than Truman ever had, lower than the current President Bush, and more than 10 points lower than California's Gov. Gray Davis at the time of the famed recall election that put "Arnold" in charge. The Chicago Tribune reports that "Rod" has "the lowest ratings ever recorded for an elected politician." And when asked for comment recently he actually said that he thinks he's doing a pretty good job! Which makes me wonder if he's hallucinating or maybe taking too much Paxil? 

Blagojevich "blames the sluggish economy" for his approval ratings. I think you could probably turn that around and blame a lot of Illinois' "sluggishness" on good ole "Hot-Rod" himself. This due to his unbelievable tax plans and questionable leadership that have been driving businesses across the border into Indiana and Wisconsin for years now. 

As for activities that I consider bordering on criminal? He spent $2.6 MILLION of Illinois' money on a foreign produced flu vaccine that the FDA had warned would not be allowed to enter into the United States. The vaccines ended up being "donated" for use in a different foreign country. The Governor also decided to spend a lot of time and money pushing for a law banning the sale of certain video games. A law which was later declared to violate the First Ammendment by a federal court judge and cost the State of Illinois taxpayers a whopping half-million dollars in legal fees! That only covers a few of his pet projects that the feds aren't already investigating.

And now we're going to allow this gem of a politician to just appoint a senator for the next two years? No vote, no primary, no choices at all for the citizens. He just gets to pick one of his buddies to replace Obama in Washington. To give whomever he chooses a gauranteed job making almost $200k a year for the next 2 years supposedly representing the people of Illinois.

How does he have ANY IDEA who to pick to represent Illinois when, obviously, no one feels he knows how to represent us well?

Mr. Blagojevich has shown time and time again that he has no respect for the law, Illinois citizens, or the tax-payers hard earned money! He should not have the right to call himself Governor of this great state much less appoint new representation for us! I cannot wait for 2010 when we get to replace this anchor that's weighing Illinois down. And I cannot imagine (or am afraid to imagine) what he might do in those next 2 years....

God help us.

From "Windy City" to "Wind POWERED City"

Anybody who has spent much time walking down the streets of Chicago can surely appreciate how much wind whips through this city at any given time. Recently, I began to ponder why we aren't harnessing more of that wind power in order to help with our enormous appetite for electricity. 

If there were just one moderately small sized wind turbine generator on every building in this city (or even just downtown!), Can you imagine how much power that could create for us? Just think about it. Power to help run our air conditioners in the summer, our electric heaters in the winter, or even those beautiful city lights every night all year long! This could prevent a lot of coal from being burned, nuclear waste from being created, and money from leaving our checking accounts.

The benefits could go way beyond that as well. I'm imagining thousands of jobs being created to produce, install, and maintain the units. More jobs and lower bills would undoubtedly help our economy by resulting in more people with more momey that can be spent elsewhere. Such use of wind power would obviously cut down on pollution, and can send a surge of money into the industry causing further development and expansion of wind technology. It just may also cause other major cities to realize that they could do the same thing too.

"But how do we implement such an idea?" Well, this is Chicago, a city that is masterful at making people do and pay for things they don't neccessarily want. Some small examples would include; the ridiculously high taxes Cook County charges on tobacco product (in the name of our health), the $50 fines imposed if you park on the wrong side of the street on "street cleaning day", and we even pay a bottled water tax now (supposedly to lessen the amount of plastic bottles that end up in landfills). I won't even get into the laundry-list of codes and regulations that apply to doing pretty much ANYTHING within the city limits.

So, I'd suggest maybe more tax breaks for those that use wind power? Perhaps some sort of fines or extra taxes (the Chicago way) for not using alternative electricity sources? Hell, why not just sign a bill into law that would require any landlord with 2-3 or more rental units to mandatorily install a wind power generator on their tennants roof? I would certainly back this idea!

Well, if I'm just half the writer I think I am you, by now you're asking, "now what can I do about it?" Glad you asked! Best thing you can do now to help is to talk about it. Tell anyone who will listen. But most importantly, tell someone who can do something about it. Here is small list of resources to get you started:

Office of the Mayor:

Address:  Office of the Mayor

City Hall - 121 N LaSalle, Room 507

Chicago, IL 60602

Fax: 312-744-8045

(That's ALL the info they had published for him)

Find & Contact your Alderman:

http://egov.cityofchicago.org/city/webportal/portalProgramAction.do?programId=536879154&channelId=-536879035&topChannelName=Government

Or go to the big man himself...

President Elect Barrack Obama:

Online contact forms:

http://answercenter.barackobama.com/cgi-bin/barackobama.cfg/php/enduser/ask.php

http://obama.senate.gov/contact/

How to get a hold of Barack Obama:

Washington D.C. Office 
713 Hart Senate Office Building 
Washington, D.C. 20510 
(202) 224-2854 
(202) 228-4260 fax 
(202 228-1404 TDD 
Email

Chicago Office 
John C. Kluczynski Federal Office Building 
230 South Dearborn St. 
Suite 3900 (39th floor) 
Chicago, Illinois 60604 
(312) 886-3506 
(312) 886-3514 fax 
Toll free: (866) 445-2520 
(for IL residents only)

Springfield Office 
607 East Adams Street 
Springfield, Illinois 62701 
(217) 492-5089 
(217) 492-5099 fax

Marion Office 
701 North Court Street 
Marion, Illinois 62959 
(618) 997-2402 
(618) 997-2850 fax

Moline Office 
1911 52nd Avenue 
Moline, Illinois 61265 
(309)736-1217 
(309)736-1233 fax 

And have your friends and co-workers do the same.

Call, write, fax, or email them and let them know you want to see more rooftop wind power generators in this city! Feel free to quote me or send them a link to this story!

Thanks!

Is more coal REALLY the answer??

During an August 5th campaign speech making fun of Senator McCain about wanting to drill for more domestic oil, Obama stated that he plans to "use more coal" to help solve America's energy crisis. I'm confused, does he want to save the environment or not? Well, he did promise change. How about longer, warmer summers....and autumns....and winters? More coal burning is a convincingly fantastic way to secure our path to global warming!

And now in the news there is serious talk of executive orders just waiting to be signed that will eliminate much of the search for for domestic oil sources; oil that would surely bring us closer to the energy independence that this country needs to progress.

Why would we not want to drill? The most prevalent argument I've found is that it might harm the environment. Exactly how would localized drilling into the ground affect the widespread environment? I'm asking because I'm not sure. When was the last time we heard about a nasty oil spill occurring at a drilling location? Or how those nasty drills are contributing so much to global warming and world-wide environmental changes?

So to recap, he's not a big fan of more nuclear power (I gathered this from the debates), He doesn't want to look for more oil in the U.S., and promises to burn more coal to make electricity. Considering that coal releases way more "greenhouse gases" than the burning of oil, again I'm confused. How is this progress? How is this a good idea? How does this "change" the world for the better?

About me (and my little blog too!)

I seem to be (or at least have been told that I am) a rather opinionated person. I feel that I do have certain views on many topics that don't normally get the public attention that they deserve. My views, in my opinion, are not necessarily in the minority. However I do believe that a lot of other opinions out there seem to be spoken with much louder voices ("quality" not "quantity"). It's a shame and a rather unfortunate irony that some of the worst ideas and beliefs in this country are often accompanied by the best marketing.

One of my goals here is to work on changing that. I have a lot of faith in the American people. And I believe that most of us quietly know what is truly right and wrong. Maybe because we know these things to be true we don't feel the same need to openly justify them? Thus, we don't talk about them enough and the wrong ideals get way more press. And that causes the public to think that's the popular view.

It's my opinion that, "The minority view gets the majority of the coverage." (I'm quoting myself there.) As just one tiny, current example (this should get you going!) I give you California. Yes, California, the closest thing to a true Democracy that we might ever see. (And a shining example of why America is a 'Republic'! ...but that's a rant for another day.) Their ballot this recent "Super Tuesday" brought 'Proposition 8' in front of the people. They decided to let the voters finally decide on how to legally define 'Marriage'. According to polling data collected since the proposition was introduced predicted there to be a strong vote to squash this amendment and allow "gay marriage". But to everyone's surprise the vote went in favor of the traditional definition.

Now, I have no real arguments for of against legally recognized same-sex unions. In order to have a truly free society however, there must be provisions in our laws to support that kind of lifestyle. Apparently though, you can't just redefine the religious institution of marriage to suit today's secular needs. I know a lot of you may disagree with me here, but marriage is a life-long union before God between a man and a woman. It has been since God ordained it, and should stay that way. Now that doesn't have to, and shouldn't affect the right of life-long same-sex partnerships to benefit from the legal and social advantages (and disadvantages) that marriage affords to "traditional relationships". Perhaps I can expound on this at a later date.

But back to my point....
It says a lot that a popular vote in California could make such a decision. California, the home-base for liberal thinking and social progress. For a state that is almost always certainly a 'sure-thing' for democratic presidential candidates and 'left-wing' thinking to make such a supposedly "right-wing" decision could surely be described as nothing less than unforeseen. And it makes me curious as hell what most of America REALLY thinks about a lot of the other issues making noise today. And that is exactly what I hope to uncover with this little experimental "blog" of mine. Well, that and people are getting tired of me filling up their Facebook walls with my rants and tirades... :-)

So please stay tuned. It just may lead to you getting informed, getting pissed, or even getting active. But my hope is that however it effects you, it all starts with you getting thinking!