Monday, August 22, 2016

MUCH MUCH more important than the election

This is definitely not the first time I have written about this 
subject matter 
and 
it won't be the last.


A front page headline in today's LA TIMES

Fallout in 
2014 blast
worsens.
Explosion at a New 
Mexico nuclear dump
ranks among costliest 
in US history, an
analysis shows.

On Valentine's day in 2014 somehow Kitty Litter was being used to blot up liquids in a sealed drum and the chemical compound resulted in the lid being blown off of ONE drum and sent a white cloud of radioactive material into the air, and 35% of the underground area became contaminated.

KITTY LITTER!

ONE DRUM!

35%  ( This number might not be close to the truth)
The Energy Department goes out of their way to sugarcoat anything having to do with Nuclear problems.

A major issue is that the Los Alamos site is a storage facility for nuclear waste from other Nuclear Power Plants....and the ventilation system won't be fixed until 2021.

 2021

Thousands of tons of waste from Idaho, Washington, New Mexico and elsewhere are now backed up with no place to go.

Thousands  (24,000 drums just from Hanford site in Washington)

Elsewhere

According to Federal sources 277,000 drums are suppose to be sent to the damaged dump site.

One of the misleading parts of the story is the cost of cleanup.  The Energy Department uses numbers like $2 billion for Three Mile Island cleanup.  

THE COST CANNOT BE DETERMINED until everything is cleaned up.  From what I know about nuclear radioactivity, cleaned up shouldn't even be a usable term

The Kitty Litter was part of the materials sent from Iran after the famous treaty was signed.
of course
I'm kidding about that....
but what part of this story doesn't sound like a joke.

I claim that there's an agreement between the press and the politicians never to bring this subject up at a debate or a press conference....because there is NO POSITIVE ANSWER.  My friend Tom claims that the lack of information regarding this area is due to the reduction of investigative reporters by print and broadcast media.

WE BOTH MIGHT BE RIGHT!

The article in the Times by Ralph Vartabedian states "that radioactive contamination at other nuclear weapons sites is costing TENS of BILLIONS of dollars to clean up BUT it is generally the result of deliberate practices such as dumping nuclear waste into the ground."

HE SHOULD HAVE ADDED RIVERS, LAKES AND OCEANS.

Deliberate

Please note that we are discussing United States Nuclear facilities ONLY!

Imagine the lack of regard for generations of human beings in countries WITHOUT OUR TYPE OF REGULATIONS.

WHERE DOES JAPAN DUMP THEIR WASTE?
WHERE DOES RUSSIA DUMP THEIR WASTE?
WHERE DOES CHINA DUMP THEIR WASTE?
WHERE DOES INDIA DUMP THEIR WASTE?
WHERE DOES PAKISTAN DUMP THEIR WASTE?


Nuclear energy is the most expensive energy, by leaps and bounds, when you add everything up.
Fixing problems is part of the cost and nothing comes close when you total the bottom line of Nuclear Energy.

It's appalling that WE, as human beings, allow this type of damage to continue being done on a global basis.

We have a magnificent ball of perfect nuclear energy sitting 93,000,000 miles away that can power anything and everything and we constantly hear that  Solar Energy is too expensive.

And I'm still waiting for someone to bring up the Nuclear Waste problem at a Presidential news conference or debate.

And I will continue to wait and wait and wait and wait........

Michael Timothy McAlevey










Friday, August 19, 2016

Trump

Simply put.....I don't really have to dump on Trump because every time he opens his mouth he does it to himself.

Seriously.

Maybe if he completely stopped talking until November he might only lose by 8 points.
Do the numbers.

At this rate he's looking at a double digit defeat to a person who is generally unlikable in her own right.

His only hope is that no minorities or women show up to vote.

I can't wait to hear his explanations for why he lost and I guess it already started with the "rigging" comment.

OK...I decided to do a little dumping.....it's very hard not to.

Back to the Olympics......




Monday, August 15, 2016

Amazing

Since last Saturday we've seen the fastest humans  on land and in the water.

The fastest in history.

Mr. Phelps and Mr. Bolt, with the edge going to Michael because of the amount of swims needed to achieve what he's achieved.

Michael Phelps is the greatest Olympic athlete in history, which might make him the greatest athlete PERIOD.

Ussain Bolt is the fastest human being on the planet.......and has been for 12 years.

BOTH OF THESE GUYS WILL BE LESS THAN 35 YEARS OLD IN 2020....just saying.

in the meantime 
RIO






















The last image belongs to the 8th place finisher in the 3000 meter steeplechase.  In my humble opinion.....the prettiest of all the Olympians.....and there have been some really beautiful women in these games....but Colleen Quigley gets my Gold Medal.  

And yes I just reduced the Olympic games to an exhibition of my shallowness.

Want more?











Friday, August 5, 2016

Sidestep the Presidential race for a sec and think about this.....

In November there will 17 measures on the California ballot.

http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ballot-measures/qualified-ballot-measures/

I would suggest getting a head start on reading about them because there never seems to be enough time when you pick up the ballot the night before you vote in order to find out where your polling place is.

17 has to be some kind of record but I'm not sure so instead of doing the research I'm just leaving it up to you....which probably means you will pick up your smart phone and ask Siri....and by now you have the answer.

By the way, odd piece of trivia......the day after Siri went live, Steve Jobs died.

The smart phone revolution has indeed allowed people to access information that before they just ignored.  So the end result is that people now know a lot of things they don't really care about....but gives them the ability to extend a conversation.  Some people, and everybody knows more than one, simply ignore the conversation and drift off into SPH (smart phone hell) and get lost and sometimes
don't actually return to the physical exchange taking place right next to them.

IS RUDE THE CORRECT WORD?

NOT ACCORDING TO THE SMART PHONE JUNKIE

THEIR ANSWER......

IT IS WHAT IT IS!  DEAL WITH IT!  And they usually say that in a text message.

Does instant access to information result in the general population being smarter?
The simple fact that Donald Trump could receive about 48 million votes is an indication that more information doesn't necessarily result in higher IQ's.
And yes that was a smart ass remark...but extremely on point.

BACK TO THE 17 MEASURES
Ballot measure 64 is the third shot for legalization of Pot......and last week one of the Kennedy clan came out and said he was putting 2 million into defeating the measure.  He was holding a gin and tonic in one hand and a Bud light in the other.

The alcohol lobby will probably add another 50 million to the anti-64 cause.

I'm not sure the Tobacco guys will complain because they must be planning to grow pot the second it's approved.  My guess is that they are already cultivating because of Colorado, Washington and Oregon....and besides they will probably be spending millions to fight Prop 56 which is a tax increase on ciggies.

It appears that 64 will pass this time because the tax revenue generated seems to large to ignore.

Our Gov, Jerry Brown, hasn't voiced his opinion yet....and since his previous nickname was "Moonbeam" I assume he's in the yes column but since he was Jesuit trained there is always the guilt factor to be considered.  Catholic guilt can rear it's ugly head on almost every social issue.

Prop 63 will bring out the big bucks from the NRA and every person who interprets the 2nd Amendment in a way that allows bat shit crazy people to own a firearm.  I realize that not everyone who owns a gun is bat shit crazy but when the not bat shit crazy people defend EVERYONE'S RIGHT TO OWN A GUN.....I WONDER.

By the way our next Governor, Gavin Newsom, introduced Prop 63.

SO....as you contemplate the two most unpopular people who have ever run for President...please consider reading the extensive ballot measures well before the night before you vote.

And then there is the list of Judges that are on every ballot....and you choose someone because you like their name.  Those Judges might be the most important people on the ballots and no one knows anything about them except for some lawyers and some criminals....and their immediate family and friends.

Once again here's the list.....study it if you dare.

http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ballot-measures/qualified-ballot-measures/

Michael Timothy McAlevey