I just read an article on aging, and the extreme measures scientists, doctors, researchers in general, are going to try to figure out how to slow aging down. Article excerpt: “It seems everyone with cash to burn is placing a bet on aging’s next — or really, it’s first — big thing. The article notes that studies show that a good diet, regular exercise, healthy weight, not smoking… are basic keys to good health, and longevity. Common sense. Our administration has come up with a strategy, not just for ongoing health, but quality of life, as it relates to, for instance, seniors. This is based on a lot of cross-country research regarding models that, if plugged in from town to town across the country, would actuate all this in a pretty dramatic way. *See… Our paradigm, when it comes to, say, seniors and social security is: “Social Security shouldn’t just be about a monetary fund. It should be about seniors feeling “socially secure,” in their communities, across the board.
Catching up on the last two weeks… I did some reporting on a Christian Bicycle Cooperative called the “Wheelhouse.” (*See photo.) A group of volunteers solicit bicycles from all over the area, fix them up, and then donate them to people just getting back on their feet. For instance, people just getting out of prison, or people who are in alcoholism and drug rehab and have temporarily lost their driver’s license, and so on. Since 2017, The Wheelhouse has given away a phenomenal 1,600 bicycles — and counting… During this time, I also did a “Joe the Painter” wood staining of kitchen cabinetry job, to keep my populist image up, and to pay for stuff. Wink… I also attended a talk on the environment by a representative from the Anabaptist Climate Cooperative. He said that currently the environment was on the ropes in a number of different ways, whether vanishing bird and animal species; or clear-cutting forests; or developments encroaching on marshland areas, etc. Our position paper on the environment would line up with his paradigm in a good number of ways. The environment is, indeed, on the ropes, whether we want to admit it or not. *Note: With the weather breaking here, I’ve had a chance to take more regular bicycle rides (I ride in the winter as well, but not as much). Joe the Bicyclist (*see bicycle book at the bottom of the page on the Joe the Bicyclist link). The town I live in, Bluffton, Ohio, has been ranked as the “2nd Most Bicycle Friendly Town in Ohio.”
I recently reported on a talk about the Lincoln Highway for a local newspaper. This was the first transcontinental road for motor vehicles in the country. It was finished in the early 1900’s. This particular photo shows the “…crash of the Snow Cruiser” in Gomer, Ohio in the 1930’s, along the Lincoln Highway. This vehicle was being driven across the country to an east coast port, where it would be loaded on a ship headed for exploration in Antarctica. It slid off the road and into a shallow creek in Gomer — and it took three days to get it out! This, oh, probably gave the crew some concern that traversing the BIG crevices in Antarctica was going to be a bit difficult. Being the first transcontinental road in America, The Lincoln Highway opened the door for more, and more… road arteries cris-crossing America. And there seemed no turning back, even in the face of motorized transportation becoming more, and more… dangerous. We’re now at 33,000 road fatalities in America in a year. That would be like half a full airliner going down in America every day. Think about that! We’d immediately close the skies. Note: Besides writing a number of other newspaper articles the past three weeks, with a break in the weather, I also did my first outdoor painting job. *I continue to hone my populist (painting) image — and pay for food.
Catching up on the last couple weeks… I attended a talk by a local TV meteorologist. While describing a plethora of weather phenomenon, and such, he said that, while he wasn’t sure to what degree, he believes climate change is real and affecting current weather patterns. Our administration would concur. What’s more, our administration would try to inspire a significant conservation mindset in regard to energy use. And our strategy is laid out in our Energy position paper, *see… I also interviewed a retired local highway patrolman. He said that every time that he approached a vehicle he’d stopped, there was always that concern that “…this could be the time.” The ‘time’ his life would be in danger. And while he had several perilous situations, in between high-speed chases, etc., he said that as he approached one car, he could see a gun on the lap of the driver over the man’s shoulder. As the man reached for it, this patrolman drew his gun and punched the driver in the side of the head with the gun handle. He then got the gun away from the man, who, it turns out, was wanted for attempted murder in another state. These officers, whether out on the highways, or in our cities, or in our small towns, put their life at risk every day. And our administration would support law enforcement at virtually every turn. For more on how we would do that, as well as how we would creatively approach crime in our society, *see… During this time, I also did an office painting job, in order to keep up my populace image, lol, and to continue to put food on the table. For a better look at some of my work in this area, *see… And in the evenings, I read a series of National Geographic articles in regard to healthy forest management, and so on. I’m continually trying to learn more for each of our positions. And, as mentioned earlier, I believe global warming is a real issue, and trees are a tremendously critical “carbon sink.” For more about our position on the Environment, *see…
I just finished a National Geographic article about the Hiroshima atomic bombing. The article chronicled the devastation and death. It looked at the physical and emotional scars of the survivors. The impact of it all is virtually incalculable, and the ‘fall out’ tremendously tragic. The “Atomic Bomb Survivor’s Support Division” of the government provides healthcare, social services, counseling, nursing home and funeral expenses. At the time the bomb was dropped, many children, for instance, were left orphans to fend for themselves. Hiroshima University’s Satoshi Tashiro said the survivors, like the survivors of Chernobyl and Fukushima, actually face, as unfathomable as this may seem: “discrimination” — as if they were lepers because of the radiation. Yet many of the Hiroshima atomic bomb survivors, discrimination or not, feel compelled to keep telling their story. As many also keep talking about a nuclear weapon free society. “Today, Hiroshima has a near-messianic zeal as the world’s champion of denuclearization,” the article noted. Our administration’s position paper on the military, would second that. See…
Just finished reading about combat at the highest elevation in the world. According to a National Geographic article, after World War II, when the British relinquished control of the Indian subcontinent, they hastily decided to divide the region into two states, based on the dominant religions, Inda for Hindus and Pakistan for Muslims. A cease fire line was drawn through the middle of Kashmir to delineate this. Since then, there has been disputes over the line, including 40 miles that was left out of the drawing of the line by mistake. India and Pakistan have set up outposts and bases along the line, and over the years, a number of soldiers have been killed during these high-altitude skirmishes. What seems senseless about this, at least in part, is these battles are around mountainous land with seemingly no productive value. Note: Ron Garan, a NASA astronaut who spent 178 days at the International Space Station, said, looking down, he saw the earth as “…a single, borderless, and fragile entity. He argued that humanity’s focus on national divisions is a “lie” that vanishes from space.
I have been researching wind turbines this last week. I was looking at, for instance, a cluster of wind turbines in Paulding County, Ohio. The turbines are much more spread out (then what’s shown in this California photo, which looks to be in a remote location) over a good number of farmers’ fields. The Ohio location has some 200 wind turbines spread throughout a two-county area. And they produce electricity for some 100,000 homes annually. What’s more, the farmers typically earn between $3,000 and $20,000 annually for each turbine. And the local governments and schools get approximately $2.5 million a year in taxes. Note: That 100,000 home figure would double, maybe triple even, if us First World homeowners were a lot more conscientious about energy use, across the board. *What’s more, I also learned that 94% of each turbine (once out of operation) is now recyclable. For a look at our position on energy in general, see…
In doing some research in regard to our ecology stance, I read an article about conservation in America in a National Geographic Magazine. A portion of the article was about “…reviving Indigenous management techniques.” Our administration would be all for that. Something we should have done from the beginning. That is, we would have done well to coexist with the Native Americans and learned their eco-friendly ways. The article noted these management techniques would include such practices as: prescribed fire; clam gardens; traditional fishing practices… “Like conservation in timberlands, farms, and cities, tribal management is about simultaneously meeting the needs of people and of other species.” My position paper on the environment embodies this paradigm. Another article excerpt: “It is about improving our relationships with the nonhuman world, not severing them.”
During his speech to the World Economic Forum this week, Trump said that his administration was going to considerably ramp up the construction of more nuclear power plants throughout the country. With massive AI Data Centers on the horizon, coupled with America’s virtually unsatiable demand for energy at this point, we will need additional power sources. This is a huge mistake, from several different angles. The names Chernobyl and Fukushima come to mind. Secondly, there’s been no measured, prayerful discernment about the AI Revolution. It’s just been full speed ahead. (*What’s more, Trump is proposing no state regulations on these AI plants for the first 10 years. This is blind lunacy.) Our administration’s energy template is just the opposite of this. That is, we would ask Americans to “sacrifice” in the energy area to decrease demand. Secondly, we would exponentially ramp up development of alternative energy sources (wind, solar, geothermal…). We would unequivocally say “no” to nuclear, including phasing out existing nuclear power plants. Note: Speaking of spiritual takes on things… Overuse of energy, like overuse of anything, to enhance lifestyle comfort, is the sin of gluttony. One of the seven deadly sins. ‘Deadly’ meaning, of course, putting your soul at jeopardy for eternity. For more on our energy policy, see…
I recently attended a presentation on the Old Lincoln Highway. It was the first trans-continental road for motor vehicles in America. The highway stretched some 3,333 miles, from New York City to San Francisco. The highway was dedicated in 1913. As the motor vehicle phenomenon evolved, rapidly, in the U.S., this road was built at relatively breakneck speed. And over time, and incrementally, highway systems in America kept growing, and growing… With people being able to go farther, and faster, families started to break apart, with adult kids moving further, and further away from their families, away from their hometowns, with this markedly increased mobility. Motor vehicle accidents started increasing exponentially (we’re now at 33,000 traffic deaths a year in America — which would be like a half an airliner going down every day in our country). And air pollution levels have skyrocketed. Point being, there was no prayerful discernment at the start of this all, like, say, the Amish have done around motor vehicles. No, we just blindly rushed ahead down the highway. And now we’re hopelessly addicted to mobility, to oil, to motor vehicle mania…
