Move over, Clint. There are some things we need to talk about.
Who really wants to waste time complaining? Where is it going to get us? I have this thing I say when someone grumbles that something happened and ruined the whole day. If someone ruined five minutes of your day, why would you want that to spoil the other 1,435 minutes in your day? That gives a different spin to attitude, huh?
But there are so many issues!
Iran is threatening the U.S. Navy? I have to believe the ayatollah doesn't want to blow up the world any more than we do. But what can power--the desire for power and authority--do to anyone?
There is a growing wealth gap between U.S. Congress and the constituency. (Constituency--that's you an me.) Congress was never supposed to be a career job. Perhaps it has gone on too long to fix. Limited terms were instituted for a reason. But power. Authority. Wealth...See the problem? No? Well, take a look: Congress and Constituency. But just to whet your appetite:
* 1984: Median net worth of House member, $280,000. (Adjusted for inflation.)
* 2009: Median net worth of House member, $725,000. (160 percent increase over 25 years.)
* 2009: Median income average American, $20,500. (Decreased over the same 25 years.)
* 2010: Annual base pay, Congressman, $176,000.
* 2010: Mean annual salary, employed, $44,410.
An economic boom in Ohio has been anticipated. The means? Marcellus Shale. However, last weekend (12/31/2011) an earthquake hit the Youngstown-Girard, Ohio area. The epicenter of the 4.0 quake was set at 1/10 of a mile from the site of a brine injection well. Published reports say the "Brine waste water from oil and gas drilling operations is often disposed of in...injection wells."
Prior to drilling starting there were no earthquakes on record in the area. There have been 11 quakes since drilling began last spring. Another report advises that when this happened in Ashtabula County, Ohio, there were quakes for nine years after the drilling stopped, according to a news report.
Athena Anne KitchenFlint writes in West Virginia Highlands Voice: The blog of the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, "...America's demand for natural gas is continually increasing. While American dependence has shifted toward foreign oil over the years, native oil companies continue to fight for market share...[T]o do this...around the turn of the millennium, the Marcellus Shale formation that is positioned under a good portion of the northeastern states...a sort of modern gold rush."
Which is most important...physical or economic health?
KitchenFlint describes the Marcellus Shale AND the process of fracking. She quotes John Manuel's article about fracking, "Some of these deposits, such as the Marcellus Shale running under the Appalachian Basin, lie beneath water tables supplying drinking water to millions of people."
"Things are in fact going wrong," KitchenFlint writes.
Bob Hagan, State Representative, D-65th, of Youngstown, supported Gov. Kasich's move to stop drilling until an investigation is completed. He said he wants to keep jobs in the area, but it's also about protecting Ohio's natural resources. (Do natural resources include people?)
With all the controversy near and far, there is a positive bit of news. In November, ABC New broadcast a story about stem cell research:
"There is promising news for people at risk for heart failure after U.S. researchers found stem cell therapy in humans has been surprisingly successful in replacing damaged muscle and getting the heart to pump better."
A friend of mine had a massive heart attack in June 2009. After too many middle-ofo-the-night ambulance runs to the ER, the doctors at Duke University stabilized Jay's medications enough to stop the middle of the night emergency runs, but he has been on the heart transplant list for about two years. He reads everything he can about stem cell research. He contacts programs for trials and would like to take part, receiving stem cells he believes can give him a second chance at living again. He has a Civil War novel he wants to writer. And he'd like to dance at his grandchildren's weddings with Camilla, his wife of 39 years (Jan. 5, 2012).
And the beat goes on...
