LilBambi’s Blog – BambisMusings

First of its Kind Onion Juice-Methane-Fuel Cell Project Underway:

Gills Onions has come up with a clever way to dispose of its daily 300,000-pound load of onion waste – turn it into methane, and use the gas to power fuel cells that can cover the plant’s baseload electrical needs.

That’s the gist of the $9.5 million project unveiled Friday at the Oxnard, Calif.-based onion processing plant.

The savings of $400,000 a year from deferred waste hauling, plus about $700,000 a year in deferred electricity costs – not to mention a $2.7 million self-generation incentive check from Southern California Gas Co. – should pay back the investment in less than five years, said Steve Gill, co-owner of the business.

This type of wonderful ‘thinking out of the box’ project is why I am so frustrated with the supposed ‘headway’ in pulling away from coal when it really means continuing to grow coal plants.

There should be no reason why smaller plants, maybe even community power plants made with waste or renewable energy can’t be done.

If we continue to think only in terms of ‘easy’ or ‘cheap today’ but ‘dirty’ solutions that damage our environment and the health of our sick, our young and our elderly, we will never get out of this mess we have created for ourselves. We need to get away from continuing to expand dirty coal and in the process prevent funds from moving into a more smart and/or renewable ways to create the electrical power needed.

I think that if all states, the governments, and countries did what SC (SCsaysNO) is doing, the companies that want to provide the power would have to think out of the box or they wouldn’t expand and others would take their place and build the more renewable/waste product plants that were safer, if they were foolish enough not to do what was needed.

But Mountain Top Removal and building more clean coal plants is not the answer. Clean Coal is an oxy moron:

Clean coal: Never was there an oxymoron more insidious, or more dangerous to our public health. Invoked as often by the Democratic presidential candidates as by the Republicans and by liberals and conservatives alike, this slogan has blindsided any meaningful progress toward a sustainable energy policy.

Chart showing Coal plants in the US, the states they are in as the data shows at Gapminder.org. We need to see where our state fits in the picture and see if we can stop progressing the move to more coal powered plants. We need to not allow more to be built. And we certainly don’t need Virginia to move further into the right side of this graph. We need to be doing what we can to move to the left on this graph.

Children At Risk PDF — must read.

The Quiet Coup — How Bankers Seized America (Mercola.com):

The economic crash has made many unpleasant truths about the United States apparent. One of the most alarming, according to a former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, is that the financial industry has effectively captured the U.S. government.

If the IMF’s staff could speak freely to the U.S. government, it would say what it says to every country in such a situation: Recovery will fail unless the financial oligarchy blocking essential reform is broken. And if the U.S. is to avoid a true depression, time is running out.

The article from The Atlantic linked below details how the U.S. financial crisis is shockingly similar to problems more commonly associated with the third world — and the harsh and necessary steps needed to get out of it.

Very interesting video with Bill Moyers and William K. Black linked on the article page and some great commentary by Dr. Mercola as well on this and an article from The Atlantic.

H.R.1207

Title: To amend title 31, United States Code, to reform the manner in which the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is audited by the Comptroller General of the United States and the manner in which such audits are reported, and for other purposes.

Sponsor: Rep Paul, Ron [TX-14] (introduced 2/26/2009)

As of today at 5PM:

COSPONSORS (84), ALPHABETICAL

Rep Abercrombie, Neil [HI-1] – 2/26/2009
Rep Akin, W. Todd [MO-2] – 3/19/2009
Rep Alexander, Rodney [LA-5] – 3/10/2009
Rep Bachmann, Michele [MN-6] – 2/26/2009
Rep Baldwin, Tammy [WI-2] – 4/21/2009
Rep Bartlett, Roscoe G. [MD-6] – 2/26/2009
Rep Bilbray, Brian P. [CA-50] – 4/21/2009
Rep Bishop, Rob [UT-1] – 4/21/2009
Rep Blackburn, Marsha [TN-7] – 3/16/2009
Rep Blunt, Roy [MO-7] – 3/24/2009
Rep Brady, Kevin [TX-8] – 4/22/2009
Rep Broun, Paul C. [GA-10] – 2/26/2009
Rep Buchanan, Vern [FL-13] – 3/17/2009
Rep Burgess, Michael C. [TX-26] – 3/19/2009
Rep Burton, Dan [IN-5] – 2/26/2009
Rep Capito, Shelley Moore [WV-2] – 4/1/2009
Rep Carter, John R. [TX-31] – 3/31/2009
Rep Castle, Michael N. [DE] – 3/17/2009
Rep Chaffetz, Jason [UT-3] – 3/6/2009
Rep Cole, Tom [OK-4] – 4/21/2009
Rep Culberson, John Abney [TX-7] – 3/26/2009
Rep Deal, Nathan [GA-9] – 3/23/2009
Rep DeFazio, Peter A. [OR-4] – 3/9/2009
Rep Doggett, Lloyd [TX-25] – 4/21/2009
Rep Duncan, John J., Jr. [TN-2] – 3/6/2009
Rep Ehlers, Vernon J. [MI-3] – 4/21/2009
Rep Fallin, Mary [OK-5] – 4/2/2009
Rep Fleming, John [LA-4] – 3/18/2009
Rep Foxx, Virginia [NC-5] – 3/10/2009
Rep Franks, Trent [AZ-2] – 3/23/2009
Rep Garrett, Scott [NJ-5] – 3/5/2009
Rep Gingrey, Phil [GA-11] – 3/30/2009
Rep Gohmert, Louie [TX-1] – 4/23/2009
Rep Graves, Sam [MO-6] – 4/22/2009
Rep Grayson, Alan [FL-8] – 3/11/2009
Rep Heller, Dean [NV-2] – 3/6/2009
Rep Herger, Wally [CA-2] – 4/21/2009
Rep Inglis, Bob [SC-4] – 4/23/2009
Rep Jenkins, Lynn [KS-2] – 4/23/2009
Rep Johnson, Sam [TX-3] – 4/22/2009
Rep Johnson, Timothy V. [IL-15] – 4/23/2009
Rep Jones, Walter B., Jr. [NC-3] – 2/26/2009
Rep Kagen, Steve [WI-8] – 2/26/2009
Rep Kaptur, Marcy [OH-9] – 4/23/2009
Rep Kingston, Jack [GA-1] – 3/6/2009
Rep Lamborn, Doug [CO-5] – 4/21/2009
Rep Latham, Tom [IA-4] – 4/21/2009
Rep Lucas, Frank D. [OK-3] – 4/21/2009
Rep Luetkemeyer, Blaine [MO-9] – 4/21/2009
Rep Lummis, Cynthia M. [WY] – 3/19/2009
Rep Manzullo, Donald A. [IL-16] – 4/21/2009
Rep Marchant, Kenny [TX-24] – 3/11/2009
Rep Massa, Eric J. J. [NY-29] – 4/22/2009
Rep McCaul, Michael T. [TX-10] – 4/21/2009
Rep McClintock, Tom [CA-4] – 3/6/2009
Rep McCotter, Thaddeus G. [MI-11] – 3/19/2009
Rep Miller, Jeff [FL-1] – 3/24/2009
Rep Olson, Pete [TX-22] – 4/21/2009
Rep Paulsen, Erik [MN-3] – 3/30/2009
Rep Pence, Mike [IN-6] – 4/21/2009
Rep Peterson, Collin C. [MN-7] – 3/19/2009
Rep Petri, Thomas E. [WI-6] – 3/10/2009
Rep Platts, Todd Russell [PA-19] – 3/19/2009
Rep Poe, Ted [TX-2] – 2/26/2009
Rep Posey, Bill [FL-15] – 2/26/2009
Rep Price, Tom [GA-6] – 3/10/2009
Rep Rehberg, Denny [MT] – 2/26/2009
Rep Roe, David P. [TN-1] – 4/21/2009
Rep Rohrabacher, Dana [CA-46] – 3/6/2009
Rep Rooney, Thomas J. [FL-16] – 4/22/2009
Rep Sessions, Pete [TX-32] – 3/23/2009
Rep Shimkus, John [IL-19] – 4/22/2009
Rep Smith, Adam [WA-9] – 4/22/2009
Rep Smith, Lamar [TX-21] – 4/2/2009
Rep Stark, Fortney Pete [CA-13] – 3/26/2009
Rep Stearns, Cliff [FL-6] – 3/6/2009
Rep Taylor, Gene [MS-4] – 3/6/2009
Rep Terry, Lee [NE-2] – 3/30/2009
Rep Thompson, Glenn [PA-5] – 4/22/2009
Rep Wamp, Zach [TN-3] – 3/16/2009
Rep Westmoreland, Lynn A. [GA-3] – 4/2/2009
Rep Wittman, Robert J. [VA-1] – 4/1/2009
Rep Woolsey, Lynn C. [CA-6] – 2/26/2009
Rep Young, Don [AK] – 3/6/2009

Where is Rep Bobby Scott (D-VA) ??

Related Bills: S.604

Title: A bill to amend title 31, United States Code, to reform the manner in which the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is audited by the Comptroller General of the United States and the manner in which such audits are reported, and for other purposes.

Sponsor: Sen Sanders, Bernard [VT] (introduced 3/16/2009)

Sen. Sanders needs some sponsors!

Keith Olbermann on Obama and Wiretapping (at EFF.org with videos from MSNBC.com):

Olbermann’s second guest, GWU Law Professor Jonathan Turley, aptly summarizes why the new ruling is so disappointing:

“I think right now, the Bush people are bringing out their mission-accomplished sign, because they’ve not only gotten Obama to protect Bush and Cheney and others from any criminal investigation on torture, but he’s now gone even further than they did in the protection of unlawful surveillance. This is the ultimate victory for the Bush officials. They have Barack Obama adopting the same extremist arguments, and in fact exceeding the extremist arguments made by President Bush…

“You cannot any longer suggest that President Obama is advancing the civil liberties and the privacy interests that he promised to advance. This is a terrible roll-back. It’s a terrible decision.

These are must watch videos on this topic.

Victory for Pet Owners! San Marcos, TX, Overturns Microchip Mandate (KatherineAlbreicht.com)

Local animal owners no longer required to chip their pets:

The City Council of San Marcos, Texas, unanimously voted this week to rescind a mandatory pet microchipping ordinance that would have required all pets within city limits to receive an injected implant. The 7 to 0 vote was made at the City Council meeting on Tuesday night. All members were present and voted, including Mayor Susan Clifford-Narvaiz, according to San Marcos Communications Director Melissa Millecam.

The chipping ordinance was originally adopted last December and was slated to take effect on April 1st.

Way to go San Marcos!

It was great to see that once they understood the entire issue, the vote was 7-0. That’s impressive!

Katherine also has research studies on the link between microchip implants and cancer here:
www.antichips.com

NO CLEAN FEED – Stop Internet Censorship in Australia

Help spread the word about the campaign by blogging about the filter, linking to nocleanfeed.com website, or including one of their buttons on your own site or blog.

If nothing else learn about what is going on in Australia … because Australia may just be the proving ground for a terrible worldwide or at least countrywide filtering system that may be coming to USA or wherever you live!

The Big Takeover by Matt Taibbi over at RollingStone.com

The global economic crisis isn’t about money – it’s about power. How Wall Street insiders are using the bailout to stage a revolution

Thanks Mudhead for letting me know about this article at RollingStone!

It’s over — we’re officially, royally f**ked. no empire can survive being rendered a permanent laughingstock, which is what happened as of a few weeks ago, when the buffoons who have been running things in this country finally went one step too far. It happened when Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was forced to admit that he was once again going to have to stuff billions of taxpayer dollars into a dying insurance giant called AIG, itself a profound symbol of our national decline — a corporation that got rich insuring the concrete and steel of American industry in the country’s heyday, only to destroy itself chasing phantom fortunes at the Wall Street card tables, like a dissolute nobleman gambling away the family estate in the waning days of the British Empire.

Much, much more in Matt Taibbi’s great 8 page article at RollingStone. Must Read.

And they wonder why many Citizens are so fed up and so angry about what they are doing?

This has been the largest transfer of wealth, actually it’s not wealth per se, it’s people’s livelihood’s and retirement’s into the hands of irresponsible government, banking cartels and corporations in the world’s known history.

They should all be ashamed but they are not. They are laughing all the way to the bank.

If you are very, very quiet, you can almost hear them laughing and patting themselves on the back at their own ability to scheme, use our own government against ‘We The People”, as well as their good fortune that the government was that gullible … while the rest of us are forced by our, errr, their paid ‘representatives’ in the government to quietly just bend over…

Why, oh, why didn’t the government heed the warnings of the likes of Ron Paul, Peter Schiff, and so many others more responsible then they?

The Martial Law Mind-Set by William Norman Grigg (LewRockwell.com)

While Archimedes is rightly revered for his many imperishable contributions to science, he could also be considered the first recorded victim of lethal police brutality.

A native of Syracuse, Archimedes did his considerable best in the doomed but worthy effort to repel Roman invaders. Following the conquest, Roman soldiers were dispatched to “pacify” the restive streets of the newly conquered city.

One afternoon, so the story goes, Archimedes was sitting inoffensively at the side of a street drawing geometric equations in the sand when some mouth-breather in Roman military garb trod heedlessly on the improvised tablet, ruining the elderly scientist’s calculations.

By this time, the venerable physicist was in his ninth decade, and he saw no point in enduring this act of thoughtless vandalism by an armored imbecile to pass without protest.

“Please don’t disturb my circles,” Archimedes insisted in what was probably a direct but polite tone of voice.

Like law enforcement officers who would follow in his footsteps – albeit in jackboots rather than sandals – the Roman soldier took offense that a mere civilian, and an elderly one at that, would demand deference from someone wearing the uniform and insignia of authority.

If the technology had been available, the Roman quite likely would have given Archimedes a “ride on the Taser.” Instead, the thug withdrew his sword and summarily killed him.

Much more in the must read article.

I have talked about my experiences with the Security at the Ferry system here in Virginia on this blog previously. I am sure some might have thought I was being silly for my concerns about this, until they read this article that is. Thanks Will Grigg for sharing in a great article the same real concerns I have had about all of this and couldn’t put it into words properly. You sure did!

Microsoft: Litigate on FAT, and you’ll be the next Unisys (ZDNet.com)

Remember “Burn All GIFs” from 1999? In 2009, the Open Source mantra of choice could very easily turn into “Destroy all FATs”

The ‘Burn Your GIFs” campaign of 1999 has a follow up and for just as insidious reasons!

Please, take a few minutes to check out this ZDNet.com article and read up on this insidious mess that Microsoft has been pulling on Linux builders and users behind their backs!

This is a major issue and one that needs to be dealt with swiftly by anyone who uses GNU Linux knowingly or unknowingly (such as through your GPS device or smart phone).

We really need to wake up on this issue. Device creators are trying to keep the cost of their devices down to the customer and this is how we and they get paid back!

I get so angry that companies will take advantage of GNU Linux and then bite the very hand that feeds them with double deals under the table with large bully proprietary companies.

It really, really ticks me off.

Remember a certain company that created a Linux Distribution a while back and then turned around and started suing left and right? Making claims that GNU Linux violated their patents?

SCO -vs- IBM (and by extension GNU Linux)

Thank you TomTom for NOT violating the GPL! Thank you also for bringing this dirty little dealing to light! I hope you are eventually vindicated for being true to the GPL and Linux which buttered your bread — unlike some other companies.

Malevolent voices that despise our freedoms – Phillip Pullman (TimesOnline)

Are such things done on Albion’s shore?

The image of this nation that haunts me most powerfully is that of the sleeping giant Albion in William Blake’s prophetic books. Sleep, profound and inveterate slumber: that is the condition of Britain today.

We do not know what is happening to us. In the world outside, great events take place, great figures move and act, great matters unfold, and this nation of Albion murmurs and stirs while malevolent voices whisper in the darkness – the voices of the new laws that are silently strangling the old freedoms the nation still dreams it enjoys.

Phillip Pullman, the childrens’ author, continues in the article to talk about reality that are echos of the Orwellian 1984.

I would suggest that you read first Phillip Pullman’s article and then read my 1984 posting from 2005. There is a sad and striking similarity.

And what of us (here in the USA)? And what of us?

Must read.

More great discussion at: http://www.modernliberty.net/