Rants
Green… Really?
Oasis of the Sea's Boardwalk
I wrote about Greenwashing before. I ran across an article in Landscape Architecture, of all places, that I think is a prime example. I couldn’t find it online, but I scanned a copy as a JPG here. In a nutshell, several cruise lines are adding vegetation to their ships. Green roof technology is letting them grow grass. The boardwalk on the Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Sea has trees and shrubs. Celebrity Cruise Line’s Solstice has a Lawn Club.
It will be interesting to see how this is marketed. www.cruisecritic.com says things like this about Oasis of the Seas, “…like the foliage-filled Central Park (12,175 plants!)” and this about Celebrity Cruise Line’s Solstice, “Kick off your shoes and stroll through a half-acre of real grass.” I haven’t seen these things marketed as “green”, but I can’t think that they are anything but the opposite by the time you figure the additional fuel to move tons of plant matter as well as their support structure. Add to that the manpower for care, fertilizer and maintenance equipment necessary to keep these plants in an alien environment. Heck though, maybe research to keep plants alive on cruise ships will translate into research for sustainable plant communities on the space station and extraterrestrial colonies…
If cruise lines want to be green, wouldn’t it make sense for them to be exploring some of the options that the transatlantic freighters are using such as adding sails and the novel idea of the giant kites? Freighters are also currently slowing their speeds to save fuel and are often making the crossing at slower speeds than the old sailing ships, though carrying much greater quantities.
In any case, I think the agenda is to seem green. Not everything has to be, but it is the trend of the day. Everyone is putting a leaf in their logo and changing their packaging to the drab color of a grocery sack. But everything doesn’t have to be 100% green. I’m not even sure if that’s possible. I do know that forcing a look of green rarely results in real environmental or economical savings.
As I’ve said before, being green isn’t a bad idea. It can be good for the planet and when done right, good for the economy. Easterday Construction Co., Inc. promotes the ideas that make sense. Greenwashing just plays on your guilt.
Washington Gibberish
I am somewhat frustrated by the gibberish that is coming from Washington. Be it Health Care Reform, the so called “stimulus” packages or even just the general budgets. Many would say it has always been like that and I have read some accounts that discussed arguments over bills that nearly came to blows in the 1800’s. There are other records that belie that though. The Homestead Act of 1862 is one such example. Could such a sweeping document be created and passed in such a succinct form today? I think not.
First, if you look at that document (here), which basically opened the West to settlement, it is only two pages long! I would wager that President Lincoln didn’t sign his name to it with 15 different give-away pens either…
USPS Rant
Our old P.O. Box 88
Well it was a tough decision, but we’re dropping our Post Office Box. Easterday Construction has had P.O. Box 88 as long as I can remember and possibly since before I was born! We have some old letterhead that goes back to before any elaborate addresses were even required in Culver. Our office was in the State Exchange Bank Building and the lumber yard was on Slate Street. Apparently that’s all the Culver postman needed to know at that time!
For years and years, our mailing address was P.O. Box 88 and our delivery address was “The Corner of Lake Shore Drive & Slate Street”. Then when 911 service came around the Town assigned us a street number. 402 North Slate Street… never mind that we’re on the west side of the street and all the other numbers on the west side of the street are odd.
Francis Ellert in the General Assembly
Culver Citizen article announcing Francis Ellert's candidacy 12-10-09
I had lunch with Francis last Friday. I’ve been friends with Francis for more than a decade now. We met when we served on the Culver Chamber of Commerce Board together. He is someone I respect and we meet on occasion to attempt to solve the world’s problems… or at least to discuss how they’re currently affecting us.
Well, Francis has stepped up and is taking it to the next level. He has made the choice to get politically involved and actually do something about it. He has announced that he is running for the District 17 State Representative position. Not that he hasn’t been involved before now. He has served on many boards such as the Chamber Board where I met him. He’s well known in the community and I think he has an excellent shot at this.
I’m pretty stoked about the possibility of having someone of Francis’s quality representing us in the General Assembly. He has a good head on his shoulders and and he’s not afraid to take on a challenge. Plus, the main thing I like about Francis is that I know he will listen. I am constantly frustrated by politicians that make decisions for us without understanding the issues. How hard is it to ask those that it will affect? I trust Francis to make informed decisions. I also trust him to have the humility to accept it when I bust his chops if he slips up on this! Ha!
Best wishes for a successful campaign, Francis! I think we would all benefit from your success in this endeavor.
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Update: WTCA Radio has some good background information on Francis on a web page here.
Outtakes from yesterday’s hearing on Capital Hill
SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM, (R-S.C): Can you give me a case in United States history where a enemy combatant caught on a battlefield was tried in civilian court?
ERIC HOLDER, ATTORNEY GENERAL: I don’t know. I’d have to look at that. I think that, you know, the determination I’ve made —
GRAHAM: We’re making history here, Mr. Attorney General. I’ll answer it for you. The answer is no.
HOLDER: Well, I think —
GRAHAM: The Ghailani case — he was indicted for the Cole bombing before 9/11. And I didn’t object to it going into federal court. But I’m telling you right now. We’re making history and we’re making bad history. And let me tell you why.
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GRAHAM: If bin Laden were caught tomorrow, would it be the position of this administration that he would be brought to justice?
HOLDER: He would certainly be brought to justice, absolutely.
GRAHAM: Where would you try him?
HOLDER: Well, we’d go through our protocol. And we’d make the determination about where he should appropriately be tried. […]
GRAHAM: If we captured bin Laden tomorrow, would he be entitled to Miranda warnings at the moment of capture?
HOLDER: Again I’m not — that all depends. I mean, the notion that we —
GRAHAM: Well, it does not depend. If you’re going to prosecute anybody in civilian court, our law is clear that the moment custodial interrogation occurs the defendant, the criminal defendant, is entitled to a lawyer and to be informed of their right to remain silent.
The big problem I have is that you’re criminalizing the war, that if we caught bin Laden tomorrow, we’d have mixed theories and we couldn’t turn him over — to the CIA, the FBI or military intelligence — for an interrogation on the battlefield, because now we’re saying that he is subject to criminal court in the United States. And you’re confusing the people fighting this war.
Watch the an extended clip of this exchange on YouTube here.
