Friday, July 8, 2005Merriam-Webster Makes for Bad PolicyRemember the word Bullshit the next time you're swimming in a freshwater lake that you thought the government was protecting from pollution. Funny how the role of government has changed from protecting the people of the country to protecting the corporations of the country, at the expense of the people. Yes, very funny. "Word to the Unwise" "The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are getting creative. They're rewriting the definitions of everyday words -- and letting their imaginations run wild. "Everyone knows what "waste" is. According to Merriam- Webster, it's "damaged, defective, or superfluous material produced by a manufacturing process; an unwanted by-product of a manufacturing process, chemical laboratory, or nuclear reactor." The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the EPA have no use for dictionaries. Historically, both agencies classified toxic mine tailings as "waste" and prohibited mining companies from dumping the stuff in lakes and rivers under the Clean Water Act. With a simple rule change, they redefined the polluted by-product as "fill," for which there are fewer restrictions for dumping. "Thanks to this simple word change, the mining company Coeur Alaska will now be allowed to dump 4.5 million tons of chemically processed tailings into Lower Slate Lake in the Tongass National Forest. It marks the first time since the Clean Water Act became law in 1972 that a mining company will be permitted to discard its toxic waste into a freshwater lake. Other mining companies are already looking to exploit this new loophole and dump their waste into public waterways. "Clearly these agencies have a knack for looking at words through rose colored glasses. If they keep it up, "pollute" will soon mean "to help an elderly woman onto the bus" and "smog" will be "a bubble-gum flavored treat every kid can enjoy." "Read the Reuters article, "Controversial Alaska gold project gets OK" at: http://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,dvjp,o7l,cq4o,a3hw,c7it,3ojx *** Want to do more and help spread the word about the Bush administration's assault on the environment? Here are a few things you can do: 1) read RAW and stay informed 2) forward this edition of RAW to your friends, family, and co-workers or use our online form to encourage them to subscribe to RAW themselves at: http://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,dvjp,o7l,ldxe,kehy,c7it,3ojx 3) write letters to the editor of your local newspapers 4) join the Sierra Club's Take Action Network at: http://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,dvjp,o7l,7bpf,3vup,c7it,3ojx 5) support the Sierra Club's efforts by donating much-needed funds at: http://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,dvjp,o7l,9vnm,86o8,c7it,3ojx " post taken from: http://lists.sierraclub.org/SCRIPTS/WA.EXE?A2=ind0507&L=raw&D=1&T=0&O=D&F=&S=&P=186 posted @ 09:54 AM PDT [link] [Karma: -1 (+/-)] [2 Comments] Thursday, July 7, 2005The Age of Bullshit--excerpted from "Mother Jones", July/August 2005, "L'Epoque Bullshit", by Dave Nuttycome, a review of Harry G. Frankfurt's recent book, "On Bullshit". "Frankfurt makes an important distinction between bullshit and lies, which is that while bullshit does not have to be untrue, it is always phony. Bullshit is a process, the byproduct of a person’s uncaring attitude toward the facts at hand. And what makes bullshit the “greater enemy of the truth than lies” is that a liar actually knows and cares about the truth. He needs to know which facts he’s trying to hide. The bullshitter just wants to get over. The person who lies on a resume is in danger of not getting the job. But the person who bullshits effectively in the interview has a pretty good chance of getting hired. (That’s how I got all my jobs. And that’s pretty much how I keep them.) The bullshit artist cares more about what people think about him than the veracity of his own words; he values the appearance of “sincerity” over “correctness.” That we can even use the seemingly honorific term “bullshit artist” without blinking is a dispiriting example of how we’ve come to privilege spin over substance." I'll let you contemplate this on your own after pointing out, in case you hadn't noticed, that damn near everything you've heard from the Bush Administration from day one has been bullshit. Everything you hear on FOXNews is bullshit. Most of what you hear from the mainstream news media is bullshit. posted @ 10:20 AM PDT [link] [Karma: 0 (+/-)] [No Comments] Wednesday, July 6, 2005Mistaken IdentityThe following exchange, as well as the post before this, are illustrations of the types of 'conversations' that occur between me and others who have mistaken my identity. 'Chuck' is a common name in the South. And I reckon 'Baldwin' ain't that uncommon. Fortunately for me I was the first to nab the domain name www.chuckbaldwin.com. You would think someone with a political radio show would think to buy it, but likely in a penny-wise pound-foolish decision, another decided to buy chuckbaldwinlive.com. Nonetheless, I am happy with my name and have no intention of changing it or selling it. So, if you are trying to contact a Chuck Baldwin, make sure you are emailing the right one. I cannot be held responsible for replies I make to unsolicited email. Well, at least I don't think I can -- I haven't checked with my lawyers. As a courtesy to the other side of this conversation I have x'd out his name and website where it appears. #### From: "XXXXXXXXX" To: "'Chuck Baldwin'" Date: 04 Jul 2005, 09:03:02 PM Subject: RE: unsubscribe Yow! You ARE a different Chuck Baldwin! Mind you, I don't think he is a total nut case, but he does get tiresome...and repetitive...and off the wall...and.....well, maybe he IS a total nut case. I glanced through your web site quickly and saw that you are clearly one hell of a lot more intelligent than Chuckwagon Chuck. Click on the following for my latest, which went to my list today: http://www.XXXXXXXXXl.com/columns/XXXXXXX.htm You might find me to be more of a nut case than Chuckwagon, though I doubt it. I don't know how you're gonna do it, but you've got to sue him for divorce, or something...too bad you can't force a name change on someone else. Hey! Since the Supremes now say they can take your home and give it to a developer to turn into a strip club, maybe next up would be the forcible taking of names, going to the highest bidder. -XX -----Original Message----- From: On Behalf Of Chuck Baldwin Sent: Monday, July 04, 2005 8:50 PM To: XXXX@XXXXX.com Subject: Re: unsubscribe I'm a different Chuck Baldwin, one without confederate flags flying on my website. But as the owner of chuckbaldwin.com I get a LOT of nutcases writing to my email address in error. Some I respond to, most I ignore. Sorry to bother you. I was trying to get rid of this "chassieman" who seems to be writing you too, and hit Reply All to be as thorough as possible. I thoroughly enjoyed your response, though I'm not familiar with your writing. But based on your reply I am quite interested to see what you do. Please add c h u ckb lo g @ chuckbaldwin.com to your weekly missives' list. If in fact I find it as repulsive as the Reverend Doctor's I'll unsubscribe in earnest. In the meantime consider it a case of mistaken identity. Chuck Baldwin On Jul 4, 2005, at 3:44 PM, XXXXXXXXXX wrote: > You're not on my list, Chuckie. > > I find it odd that someone like yourself, who sends me about sixteen > copies of every single little thought that seems to cross your fevered > brain, has the effrontery to write all of us and demand that WE remove > YOU from OUR lists. Not only that, but you do it via what can only be > described as genuine SPAM! > > If, indeed, somehow you get my weekly missives directly from me, then > do something more thoughtful than this and provide me the actual email > address that needs to be removed. Trust me, it will happen... > > -xx > > > -----Original Message----- > On Behalf Of Chuck Baldwin > Sent: Monday, July 04, 2005 12:24 PM > To: chassieman > Cc: john francis; jerry martin; gary meade; steele; tom tear; don > linda r.; lady home sch.; jack F; doug browning; kerry edwards; melanie > elsie; jerry c.; cindy bob; brenda ?; mark g.; ralph blowers; mike castle; federal > observer; bill f.; barb ketay j.veon.rad.frnd; ed c.; russ westfall; scott jackie; > Randy Rose P; diane d.; ed kaminski; charlie albert; jim > royle; fredd; alex jones; afp editor; ABC News > > Subject: UNSUBSCRIBE > > Please remove me from your lists. I also got a stark "lol"; a "Sorry, I don't have you on any list..."; and a "Please un scribe me from YOUR lists." Well, all in a day's work defending the name Chuck Baldwin. I had my fortune told to me last night by a mystical typewriter at the Musee Mecanique on the Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. It said that my "behavior is beyond reproach." As G.W.'s god is telling him to bomb Iraq, mine are telling me to keep on track, too. -cb posted @ 09:21 AM PDT [link] [Karma: 2 (+/-)] [No Comments] |
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