DEC: Ban the Burn Barrel

The New York State Department of Enviormental Conservation is studying a proposal to inistitute a state-wide ban on all open burning to target the pollution caused by the backyard burn barrel. I have fond memories of going out to the burn barrel to dispose of newpapers, food packaging, and other household wastes with my grandfather back when I was younger.

This article from the Plattsburgh Press Republican reports that

the state currently bans the burning of all residential waste in any city or village or in any town with a total population greater than 20,000. However, that ban does not cover most of the communities across the tri-county North Country.

The new DEC proposal strengthens that law by extending the ban to all open burning regardless of town size, with such exceptions for barbecue grills, small wood fires, some on-site burning of agricultural waste and ceremonial or celebratory bonfires that use untreated wood or other agricultural products.

I do a lot of traveling across Jefferson, Saint Lawrence, Franklin, and Clinton Counties for my job, and I see people using burn barrels all across the North Country. The DEC is not very popular in this area, and this proposal won't do anything to change that. It will be interesting to see what kind of reaction this proposal generates.

Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-PA): You Didn't Believe Us, Did You?

Here's a great YouTube clip of Democractic Rep. Paul Kanjorski of Pennsylvania answering a question during a recent town hall meeting. Here's a transcript of the clip:

"We (Democrats) didn't say it, but we implied it that if we won the Congressional elections, we could stop the war. Now anybody who's a good student of government would know that wasn't true. But you know the temptation to want to win back the Congress, we sort of stretched the facts, and people ate it up."

No lesson, no moral. Just a brief moment of honesty about dishonesty.

Don't Blame the Yaris

The big news in the North Country this weekend is that two young men died this morning in a car crash after drinking at a party. The driver was a 17 year old and his passenger was a 20 year old. The news story mentions that the two were traveling in a Toyota Yaris and shows a picture of the demolished car.

I drive a Yaris myself and love the car. Hopefully people won't get all hysterical over this tragedy and blame it on the tiny car. The article states:

The driver then over corrected exiting the north shoulder. The car struck several trees and became airborne. It ended up rolling over several times across Route 11 and came to a rest against some trees on the south shoulder.

I doubt very much that any vehicle is designed to protect its occupants from bouncing off several trees and rolling across the highway.

Simple Living: Can You Dig It?

I have been doing a lot of thinking lately about money, budgeting, and lifestyle choices. In a few months, I am in line for a big raise that will dramatically increase the amount of disposable income I have available. If I don't start to plan for how that money should be saved and allocated, I know that I am going to piss it away.

So it was with great interest that I read this article in the New York Times this morning. The article presents a brief profile of families preparing for big changes in their lives through an embrace of simple living habits. While I have no intention of giving away all my stuff and moving to Vermont to live in a house without electricity, I do think that there is plenty of room to make positive changes in my life.

At an earlier time in my life, I was very fond of the personal debt-reduction philosophy advocated by Dave Ramsey and others. This philosophy was packaged in conservative Christian ideology, but it has the same fundamental elements as the Simple Living Movement. Both philosophies believe that happiness and success in life can not be found through the pursuit of material goods financed through increasing amounts of personal debt. Therefore, the first thing to do is to get on a budget and devote any extra money to debt reduction.

That is a clear and achievable battle plan if ever there was one. For too long, I've been traveling without a plan. So it's time to get back on a budget and kick the crap out of my credit card debt.

Met the Vet

I took the cats to the see the new vet today after work. Although they hate getting into the cat carriers and riding in the car, they were perfect gentlemen during the visit. The doctor and the vet tech said what well behaved cats they were.

They got a general checkup, a de-worming, flea treatment, and shots for feline leukemia and distemper. They're both up to date on their rabies shots, so they didn't need that.

This was the first visit to the new vet since I moved to Northern New York in February. This particular doctor has his office in a customized RV, so there's less overhead for office space and so forth. The bill came to $138.00 for all of those services for two cats. That's less than half the cost of the same services at my old vet. So needless to say, I am very impressed.

The doctor said the cats were healthy and had nice looking teeth. He said Whitebelly was at his optimum weight of 11 lbs, but Blackbelly, who weighed in at 13 lbs, needs to lose some weight. One thing surprised me though. He said the current recommendations are three litter boxes for a house with two cats!!! I've got two litter boxes and that seems to be plenty. I'd be curious to know what cat to litter box ratio other cat owners use. Let me know.

New York Politics: Stranger and Stranger

Even before the investigations into the Spitzer Administration's efforts to misuse the State Police in order to discredit Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno have been resolved, New Yorkers are treated to a new episode in dysfunctional government. The Albany Times Union is reporting the following:

The long-time lawyer for Gov. Eliot Spitzer's elderly father notified state and Senate investigations panels Tuesday that a person believed to be a political strategist for Senate Republicans left an angry, anonymous voice mail message warning of a subpoena about "your shady campaign loans."

"If you resist the subpoena you will be arrested and brought to Albany," the caller, believed to be political consultant Roger Stone, stated in an obscenity-laced message, according to a letter sent to Senate Investigations Committee Chairman George Winner Jr., R-Elmira.

Among other past activities, Wikipedia mentions these two items of interest regarding Roger Stone:

According to Maureen Dowd of the New York Times, Stone is the "keeper of the Nixon flame" and was an advisor to the former President in his post-presidential years, serving as "Nixon's man in Washington". Stone was a protege of former Connecticut Governor John Davis Lodge who introduced the young Stone to then former Vice President Nixon in 1967.

According to Jeff Toobin in his "Too Close To Call" Stone was recruited by former Secretary of State James Baker to over-see the recount of the disputed Presidential election in Miami-Dade county in 2000. Stone is credited with the street demonstrations and eventual shut-down of the re-count in that privotal county.

I find this stuff to be fascinating: mysterious political operatives threatening the elderly father of the Governor of New York. Wow, I smell a novel in the making. Any guesses on the motivation or what this is all about?

An Honest Mistake

Well it's a good thing that I don't believe in conspiracy theories because otherwise this article from MSNBC might have me asking some dangerous questions. It seems that even before the trial of Lt. Colonel Steven Jordan got underway, the presiding judge dismissed two of the most serious charges against Jordan because the defendant was not read his rights.

In court Monday morning, prosecutor Lt. Col. John P. Tracy announced that an investigator, Maj. Gen. George Fay, had contacted prosecutors Sunday to say that he “misspoke” when he testified during a pretrial hearing that he had advised Jordan of his rights during an interview in 2004.

In that 2004 interview, Jordan had told Fay he never saw detainees being abused and never saw nude detainees.

I fully support the rights of the accused, it's just that this strikes me as all too convenient. Just as the trial of the highest ranking military official implicated in the Abu Ghraib abuse and cover-up gets underway, two of the most serious charges are thrown out due to negligance on the part of the military investigator.

Good grief. Someone is having quite a good laugh at our expense.

Marriage Equality in Canada

The CBC is reporting that Scott Brison has become the first Member of Parliament (MP) to marry a same-sex partner since gay marriage was legalized in 2005. Mr. Brison is a member of the Liberal Party and is a member of the federal parliament from Nova Scotia.

A number of dignitaries, including Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion, former New Brunswick premier Frank McKenna and former prime ministers Paul Martin and Joe Clark, were among the guests.

"Everyone involved felt like they were part of a history-making event," McKenna said. "It seemed like a validation of a long process."

Dion said he hoped his presence at the wedding would reinforce the right of same-sex couples to marry.

Perhaps the most striking aspect of the CBC report is the reaction of the local citizenry to news of the wedding.

Many of the 200 or so residents of Cheverie, on the province's western shoreline in the Annapolis Valley, say they don't understand the fuss and are playing down the significance of the wedding.

"To each their own," said Pat Eldridge of nearby Canning. "Everyone's entitled to their own opinions and own way of life. He's not hurting us. If they're in love and want to be together, then that's awesome. Love is hard to find."

How long will we have to wait until America's cultural sensibilities catch up to Canada's?