News; Some New, Some Old:
EPA Strongly Defends Its Veto of One of Largest Mountaintop Removal Mines Ever Proposed
Agency files appeal to persevere in protection of Appalachian waters, communities
The green valley to the right was the site of the proposed Spruce No. 1 mine. (Vivian Stockman of OVEC. Flyover courtesy of SouthWings.)
“We are heartened to see the Environmental Protection Agency press forward in its commitment to enforce the 40-year-old Clean Water Act and to ensure that the full protections of that law are finally brought to Appalachia, where they’ve been ignored for too long. As EPA’s Spruce veto determination recognized, sound science shows that it is unacceptable for a coal company to destroy more than 2,000 mountain acres and fill over six miles of vital streams with mining waste pollution, and we will continue standing behind EPA’s decision to prevent the irreversible devastation to waterways and communities that the Spruce No. 1 mine would bring.” Complete article at: http://earthjustice.org/news/press/2012/epa-strongly-defends-its-veto-of-one-of-largest-mountaintop-removal-mines-ever-proposed
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Bottle Bombs
“Kids and others are combining household items to manufacture BOMBS IN PLASTIC DRINK BOTTLES and capping them off. They leave them on lawns, in mail boxes, in gardens, on driveways etc. just waiting for someone to pick them up to put it in the rubbish. But if the bottle is picked up and shaken even just a little - in 30 seconds or less it builds up sufficient gas to explode with enough force to remove some of your extremities. Boiling hot liquid also sprays out of the bottle. DON'T PICK UP ANY PLASTIC BOTTLES THAT MAY BE LYING IN YOUR YARDS OR IN THE GUTTER, Disturb or move them and BOOM!!! No fingers left plus it will damage to face, eyes, etc.”
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Tick Removal
“Spring is here and the ticks will soon be showing their heads. Here is one way to get them off you, your children, or your pets.
A pediatrician told me “It’s the best way to remove a tick. Plus it works in difficult to access places with tweezers or between toes or in the middle of a head full of dark hair, etc.
Apply a glob of liquid soap to a cotton ball. Cover the tick with the soap-soaked cotton ball and swab it for a few seconds (15-20); the tick will come out on its own and be stuck to the cotton ball when you lift it away. This technique has worked every time I've used it (and that was frequently), and it's much less traumatic for the patient and easier for me. Unless someone is allergic to soap, I can't see that this would be damaging in any way. I even had my doctor's wife call me for advice because she had one stuck to her back and she couldn't reach it with tweezers. She used this method and immediately called me back to say, "It worked!"”
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Sen Bernie Sanders Amazing Speech DEC 02 2010, Still true today:
THIS IS A MUST SEE , FINALLY SOMEONE IN SENATE IS TELLING THE TRUTH WHAT IS GOING ON IN OUR COUNTRY !!! THANKYOU C-SPAN AND BERNIE SAMNDERS....
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The Berlin Wall - 25 years ago
“Twenty-five years ago today, President Ronald Reagan stood in West Berlin on a temporarily erected platform. The gray buildings of Soviet-dominated East Berlin were visible through the Brandenburg Gate behind the podium.
Standing inches away from the tangible manifestation of the Iron Curtain, Reagan faced the crowd of West Berliners in front of him and the Western world beyond. But his real audience was behind him, behind the curtain: He spoke to the millions of people in Central and Eastern Europe held captive by the wall, and he spoke to the Kremlin, addressing Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev himself.
In his rhetorically masterful speech, Reagan made the economic case for freedom and the security case for Western resolve, but his main argument was a moral one. He stated flatly the problem of U.S.–Soviet relations: “Our differences,” Reagan said, “are about liberty.”
Join Heritage as we commemorate the 25th Anniversary of President Reagan’s call for freedom at the Berlin Wall with a screening of his historic speech.” More at: http://blog.heritage.org/2012/06/12/the-culmination-of-reagans-foreign-policy-tear-down-this-wall/?roi=echo3-12267347405-8875961-b4e26db9664646fa9cecaa72a45af032&utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Morning%2BBell
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Morning Bell: How Taxmageddon Will Impact You
“I’ve said that this is a make-or-break moment for the middle class, and I 
believe it,” President Obama told an Ohio crowd on the 14th. June. Indeed it is—because in a sluggish economy, American taxpayers are about to be clobbered by the largest tax increase in history. Starting January 1, 2013, Americans will face a $494 billion tax increase, the highest ever in one year. According to The Washington Post, congressional aides started calling it “Taxmageddon”—a chilling reference fit for an apocalyptic nightmare. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has warned that it will … More at: http://blog.heritage.org/2012/06/15/morning-bell-how-taxmageddon-will-impact-you/
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Historic Partnership on Penobscot River Will Restore Fish Populations, Maintain Energy Production, Support Local Economies. 06/11/2012
BRADLEY, Me. – “Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today joined the Penobscot River Restoration Trust and tribal, state and federal partners to begin the removal of the Great Works Dam, kicking off a multi-year restoration of Maine’s largest river.
“Today marks an important milestone for river conservation in America,” Secretary Salazar said. “Through a historic partnership that exemplifies President Obama’s America’s Great Outdoors Initiative, we are reconnecting 1,000 miles of river, restoring vital habitat for fish and wildlife, expanding opportunities for outdoor recreation, and supporting energy production, jobs and economic growth in communities throughout Maine.”” More at: http://www.doi.gov/news/pressreleases/AMERICAS-GREAT-OUTDOORS-Salazar-Celebrates-Milestone-in-Restoration-of-Maines-Penobscot-River.cfm
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On This Day:
First roller coaster in America opens, Jun 16, 1884:
“On this day in 1884, the first roller coaster in America opens at Coney Island, in Brooklyn, New York. Known as a switchback railway, it was the brainchild of LaMarcus Thompson, traveled approximately six miles per hour and cost a nickel to ride. The new entertainment was an instant success and by the turn of the century there were hundreds of roller coasters around the country.
Coney Island, a name believed to have come from the Dutch Konijn Eilandt, or Rabbit Island, is a tract of land along the Atlantic Ocean discovered by explorer Henry Hudson in 1609. The first hotel opened at Coney Island in 1829 and by the post-Civil War years, the area was an established resort with theaters, restaurants and a race track. Between 1897 and 1904, three amusement parks sprang up at Coney Island--Dreamland, Luna Park and Steeplechase. By the 1920s, Coney Island was reachable by subway and summer crowds of a million people a day flocked there for rides, games, sideshows, the beach and the two-and-a-half-mile boardwalk, completed in 1923.
Roller coasters and amusement parks experienced a decline during the Great Depression and World War II, when Americans had less cash to spend on entertainment. Finally, in 1955, the opening of Disneyland in Anaheim, California, signaled the advent of the modern theme park and a rebirth of the roller coaster. Disneyland's success sparked a wave of new parks and coasters. By the 1970s, parks were competing to create the most thrilling rides. In 2005, Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey, introduced the Kingda Ka roller coaster, the world's tallest (at 456 feet) and fastest (at 128 mph).
Coney Island Cyclone
By the mid-1960s, the major amusement parks at Coney Island had shut down and the area acquired a seedy image. Nevertheless, Coney Island remains a tourist attraction and home to the Cyclone, a wooden coaster that made its debut there in 1927. Capable of speeds of 60 mph and with an 85-foot drop, the Cyclone is one of the country's oldest coasters in operation today. Though a real-estate developer recently announced the building of a new $1.5 billion year-round resort at Coney Island that will include a 4,000-foot-long roller coaster, an indoor water park and a multi-level carousel, the Cyclone's owners have said they plan to keep the historic coaster open for business.”
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Yesterday:
Misty and I went to get Jay later than usual as their cable guy was coming. But we still took Misty and Maddie for their walkabout. When we got back here, we made an adjustment to the computer area we are making for me, by adding another storage unit under the big corner, so that cats can’t get back in that corner.
As it wasn’t windy, we ran a water hose out to the burn pile and lit it. I went through the lumber rack and weeded out some boards that had become old, and burned them too. Then I cut some treated 2” x 6” treated boards with the chop saw, while Jay removed and replaced the ones on the bridge. It is instead of a culvert here in the front, and the rain water flows under it. Then we burned the old broken boards. A mobile home mover was moving a mobile home out of the subdivision, couldn’t get around the corner properly, and had damaged my bridge with the tracks of his caterpillar the other day.
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