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   In a move destined to be remembered for generations, the present administration wants federal agencies to decide for themselves whether highways, dams, mines and other construction projects might harm endangered animals and plants. These new regulations will not require the approval of Congress. Interior Secretary Dork Kempthorne said late Monday the changes were needed to ensure that the Endangered Species Act would not be used as a "back door" to regulate the gases blamed for global warming. We don't need restrictive regulations on big business just to protect endangered species that will not generate huge profits for business. The draft rules would bar federal agencies from assessing the emissions from projects that contribute to global warming and its effect on species and habitats. In other words, it's more important business does not have to worry about the emissions it generates than about a few species of animals that don't have the numbers large enough to generate profits through exploitation. "We need to focus our efforts where they will do the most good," Dork Kempthorne says. It is not possible to draw a link between greenhouse gas emissions and distant observations of impacts on species. Where has this dorks head been for the last 50 years? "If adopted, these changes would seriously weaken the safety net of habitat protections that we have relied upon to protect and recover endangered fish, wildlife and plants for the past 35 years," said John Kostyack, executive director of the National Wildlife Federation's Wildlife Conservation and Global Warming initiative. Between 1998 and 2002, the Fish and Wildlife Service conducted 300,000 consultations. The National Marine Fisheries Service, which evaluates projects affecting marine species, conducts about 1,300 reviews each year. The reviews have helped safeguard protected species such as bald eagles, Florida panthers and whooping cranes. A federal government handbook from 1998 described the consultations as "some of the most valuable and powerful tools to conserve listed species." In recent years, however, some federal agencies and private developers have complained that the process results in delays and increased construction costs. In 2003, the administration imposed similar rules that would have allowed agencies to approve new pesticides and projects to reduce wildfire risks without asking the opinion of government scientists about whether threatened or endangered species and habitats might be affected. The pesticide rule was later overturned in court. The Interior Department, along with the Forest Service, is currently being sued over the rule governing wildfire prevention. The sponsor of that bill, then-House Resources chairman Richard Pombo, R-California, told the AP Monday that allowing agencies to judge for themselves the effects of a project will not harm species or habitat.  Center Left Turn Lanes A center left turn lane is in the middle of a two-way street and is marked on both sides by two painted lines. The inner line is broken and the outer line is solid. If a street has a center left turn lane, you must use it when you turn left. You may only drive for 200 feet in the center left turn lane. This lane is not a regular traffic lane or a passing lane. To turn left from this lane, signal and drive completely inside the center left turn lane. Do not stop with the back of your vehicle blocking traffic. Make sure the lane is clear in both directions and then turn only when it is safe. Look for vehicles coming toward you in the same lane to start their left turn. I hope this clears up some confusion at the East Main/Boliver Drive Turning Lane. In other words, use the Turning Lane the way it was meant to be used! You don't have to make a left turn from the far right lane. That's what the flipping Turning Lane is for! And remember, you don't have to get into the Turning Lane for a Wal-Mart turn at the Lighthouse! If you need a better explanation of the Turning Lane ... you probably shouldn't be driving. For those familiar with the night time skies, it appears a new star has been born. A bright light has appeared in Perseus in the Northeast. This light is as bright as almost any star in the Northeast quadrant of the sky. But put a pair of binoculars on it and it suddenly reveals itself not as a star but as a bright comet without a tail. It doesn't show the normal tail of a comet because it is moving straight away from us. It is the Comet Holmes. It was first discovered in 1892 by Edwin Holmes in London England. It had appeared to gain brightness in 1892 also. This comet is typically a very faint comet seen only with a good telescope. But several times in the last hundred years, it has gained brightness allowing it to be viewed by the naked eye. So next time you are out on a starlit night, be sure to look in the northeast. You are seeing something that may or may not be able to be seen again with the naked eye. Below is a picture from John Chumack showing where to look for the comet. 
 This picture was taken from the Niagara Falls State Park Information Building (on the American Side, go figure). If you still don't know why, you may be part of the problem.  
The Kansas Highway Patrol last week began spying on motorists from privately owned big rig trucks. As part of a new, federally funded effort, a state trooper sits in the passenger seat of each truck and operates a set of five video cameras and a radar gun to identify motorists to ticket. The trooper will then contact a patrol car hidden nearby to issue the citation. The program is expected to generate hundreds of thousands of dollars in ticket revenue over the next six weeks. "I want to thank industry and governmental partners that have agreed to work with the Patrol on this important program," Kansas Highway Patrol Superintendent William R. Seck said in a statement. Yellow Transportation, a Wichita company, provided trucks for the most recent operation at no cost to the state. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which is funding the Kansas ticketing program, this month rewarded the cooperative company with its "highest safety rating" -- a valuable endorsement of Yellow's practices. In 2005, the federal agency similarly spent $600,000 in federal gas tax money to fund a ticketing program in Washington state.
Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania wants to sell your personal information !!! This personal information is your account number, name, address, your rate class, and historical billing information. In other words, how much you paid for gas in the past. Now why would they want to do this? It doesn't matter why, they ARE GOING TO DO IT. That is, unless you call them, at their convenience, and tell them not to. Do you ever read all the junk that comes with your bills? Most people do not. If you read all the junk that comes with each piece of mail, it would be like reading a novel full of useless information each year. Useless of course, unless they slip this little note in there about your personal information. On the note they tell you to call 1-888-460-4332. Then press Option 4, then press Option1 (which didn't work because "Our office is Closed", then press Option 4 which there was no Option 4. Their office hours are from 7 Am to 5:30 PM. The last line of this little note says "If we do not hear from you, your customer information will be included on future customer lists." Meaning, 'We will sell your personal information to make even more money. Hopefully you don't read this notice so we can make money at your expense because we don't make enough money from your gas bill.' If you want to skip the middleman, i.e. Columbia Gas, just send me all your personal information and I will be glad to post it here for you. Believe me, it makes about as much sense as letting Columbia Gas do it for you. |
NY Outdoor Nut Steaming Pile of Orthodoxies Spyware Lavasoft Ad-Aware Spybot Protection Do you have an article you want to see here? An essay? An editorial? Complaint? Do you want to write an article about , ? Here is a little tidbit you can appreciate. It's from Peter Drew at peterdrewvo.com. Hope you get as big a kick out of it as I did. Thanks to webproworld for pointing to this. Today in History
Today is Saturday, March 8, the 68th day of 2008 with 298 to follow.
The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Mercury, Neptune, Jupiter and Venus. The evening stars are Mars, Saturn and Uranus.
BirthdaysDeathsHit SongsOther EventsIn 1913, the Internal Revenue Service began to levy and collect income taxes in the United States.In 1917, strikes and riots in St. Petersburg marked the start of the Russian Bolshevik revolution. In 1921, after Germany failed to make its first war reparation payment, French troops occupied Dusseldorf and other towns on the Ruhr River in Germany's industrial heartland. In 1957, Egypt reopened the Suez Canal to international traffic after Israel withdrew from occupied Egyptian territory. In 1965, nearly 4,000 U.S. Marines landed in South Vietnam. In 1990, Colombia's M-19 leftist guerrilla group surrendered its arms, ending 16 years of insurrection. In 1991, the United States began welcoming home its combat troops from the Persian Gulf. In 1992, Menachem Begin, the stern, hunted Israeli underground leader who went on to win the Nobel Prize as prime minister for making peace with Egypt, died of heart failure. In 1996, China fired three missiles into the sea off Taiwan. The United States responded by beefing up its naval presence in the region. In 1998, James McDougal, a former business partner of then-Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton, died in prison. He had been convicted in connection with the Whitewater land scandal. In 1999, the U.S. Energy Department fired a Chinese-born computer scientist from the Los Alamos, N.M., National Laboratory in the theft of U.S. nuclear secrets. In 1999, baseball great Joe DiMaggio died at age 84. In 2003, Israeli helicopters fired missiles at a car in the Gaza Strip, killing a top Hamas leader and three bodyguards. In 2004, writer and actor Spalding Gray, missing for almost two months, was found in New York's East River, a suspected suicide. Also in 2004, as revenge killings continued in Haiti, Boniface Alexandre, the Supreme Court chief justice, was named interim president. In 2005, thousands of Lebanese protested the pullout of Syrian forces. In 2006, an official of the World Health Organization expressed strong concern that bird flu spreading to humans could cause a massive pandemic. Also in 2006, three Alabama college students reportedly looking for cheap thrills were arrested on charges they set fire to nine rural Baptist churches. Also in 2007, the House of Commons, the lower chamber of the British Parliament, approved a measure requiring the upper house, the House of Lords, to be elected by the people rather than appointed. Approval by the current House of Lords would be necessary for the change. |
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