27 April 2004

Router consolidation

The last six weeks or so have been somewhat stressful with respect to our home network. We have experienced sporadic loss of connectivity to and from the 'Net. Trial, error and diagnostics led to the conclusion that the culprit was our Linksys BEFSR41. However, the issue has been resolved through replacement with a WRT54G.

I have written a little more detail for those that are interested.

22 April 2004

Celebrating Gaia

Today marks the 34^th anniversary of the first Earth Day celebration. That first event, founded by Senator Gaylord Nelson (D-WI), motivated in excess of 20 million citizens to reflect on the natural gifts we daily take for granted and to recognize our responsibilities as stewards for the perpetuity thereof. Yet much of what it means to be a true steward is ignored.

• Research and adoption of alternative fuel sources (alternative to fossil fuels) is largely stifled, not by the alternatives, but by the lack of potential providers to see profit.
   
• Our society continues to pursue an ever disposable lifestyle. Everything is evaluated on its short term utility and not the long term consequences of its use and disposal.
   
• Governments continue to view the bottom line with an eye toward short term benefit (mostly to themselves or their historical legacies) and fail to consider the ramifications their actions impose upon future generations.

The list goes on and on ...

One can always tell the enlightened from those simply paying the concept lip service for self-interested reasons by their choice of words. As mentioned above, 2004 marks the 34^th Anniversary of the first Earth Day; it is not the 34th Annual Earth Day! Few people seem to recall — perhaps even to know — that, while the first Earth Day was held in 1970, it was not until 1990 that the concept enjoyed widespread renewal. Perhaps it is simply a matter of semantics, but it is the syntax that separates the committed from the parasitic.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Renew

These are the concepts that discriminate between those that endeavor to live their lives as stewards of Gaia and those who like the idea, but are unwilling to make the sacrifices necessary to realize that responsibility.

15 April 2004

Tax Relief for America's Families

Today is the so-called "Tax Day". More accurately, it is the final day on which the previous year's income tax liability can be submitted to the Internal Revenue Service. True to their double-speak nature, the Bush Administration was out in force to spread more disinformation regarding the state of the economy and their influence thereupon.

"Tax day is something most people really don't look forward to, but this year it's a little better because of the tax refief we delivered..."

These were the words spoken by our Commander-in-Chief yesterday as he toured Iowa lauding the contributions his administration has made to jump starting the economy. Let us take a little closer look at the facts.

The "tax relief" to which Bush refers is partly the $400/head that families with children received last summer. In fact, the checks themselves carried the memo statement "Tax Relief for America's Families".

How many American's do their own taxes? Did you pay attention to your taxes and credits? If so, you probably noticed that this was not tax relief, but, rather, a tax advance. When calculating your Child Tax Credit, did you note the second field? Yes, that is correct. The "advance child credit" was the "relief" that families with children received last summer.

Obviously, the "relief" was actually an interest free loan that we are now required to pay back. Perhaps more appropriately is to see it as an advance on one's tax credit. However, in no way is it tax relief!

"Tax relief today, and not tax relief tomorrow..."

(another Bush quote from yesterday)
LOL! That is rich. For the irresponsible, that statement is probably accurate. For Elizabeth and me, it is tax relief tomorrow, because we applied all of the advance to debt relief; not to stimulation of the economy! Our benefit will come twenty years from now when the note on the house is "Paid in Full".

14 April 2004

Idiotic hypocrisy

There certainly seems to be a lot of banter of late with respect to the poor performance of our elected public officials. One sees polls almost daily which suggest that a large number of Americans disagree with the policies of the Bush Administration — especially with respect to both the economy and Iraq, since those seem to be the most volatile. Nevertheless, these vociferous diatribes seem to be limited to lip-service; with little action to elicit change.

Today marked the end of the primary election season. The 10 March primary elections resulted in several regional statistical ties necessitating a run-off. Sadly, only approximately 1.4% of the registered voters of Dallas County bothered to turn out for the run-off. Somewhat more disappointingly is the fact that only 7.8% of the registered voters bothered to go to the polls during the primary itself.

I can vouch for these numbers. My own unscientific, anecdotal observations revealed that my precinct (2104) followed the rule, rather than setting the exception. On both 10 March and 14 April, I stopped by the polls at 1800 to cast my vote. On 10 March, my ballot was the 180^th of the day; on 14 April I cast the 31^st vote at my polling station. How pathetic.

The level of voter apathy is ridiculous. Yet, these are the same individuals who do not hesitate to complain about the actions of lawmakers and the government in general. They are hypocrites; one and all! Moreover, this is idiocy.

We are reminded on several fronts that the soldiers fighting the war against terrorism are doing so to protect our freedom as Americans. (Where that logic originates is an enigma, but that is fodder for another discourse.) One of the most basic tenets of that freedom — as outlined in the Constitution by our Founding Fathers — is the right of representation. How does that representation come about, but though exercise of our Franchise Right.

Here are some depressing figures for your consumption.

Registered Voters (Dallas County)	Primary Turn-out (10 March)	Run-off Turn-out (14 April)
1,133,481	86,637	15,492
	53,713 (D) 32,924 (R)	11,459 (D)    4033 (R)

 

Most disappointing of all? I am acquainted with many idiotic hypocrites!

numbers derived from data at Dallas County Elections

 

continue to the March 2004 archive ⇒