The DISH
Unbossed and unbought
news and information you can use
Vol. 8 Issue 33…Dedicated to the Dialogue on Race…August
19, 2005
Rudolph Diesel (1858 - 1913)
"The
diesel engine can be fed with vegetable oils and would help considerably in the
development of agriculture of the countries which use it....The use of
vegetable oils for engine fuels may seem insignificant today. But such oils may
become in course of time as important as petroleum and the coal tar products of
the present time."
German
inventor Rudolf Diesel was born in Paris, France on March 18, 1858. Diesel set
up his first shop-laboratory in Paris (1885) and began work on creating an
alternative to the oversized, expensive and inefficient steam engine.
Diesel
received a patent for his engine on February 23, 1892. He began working at the
Augsburg Machine-Works in 1893 to develop a prototype. An eminent thermal
engineer, connoisseur of the arts, linguist and social theorist, Diesel
published "The Theory and Construction of a Rational Heat Engine"
(1893), which described the pressure-ignited heat engine. On August 10, 1893,
Diesel's prime model, a single 10-foot iron cylinder with a flywheel at its
base, ran on its own power for the first time. In early 1897, he built a
functional prototype that would bear his name.
Within
a few years, Diesel's design became the standard of the world for that type of
engine. Although commercial manufacture begun slowly, by 1898, Diesel was a
millionaire from international franchise fees. In 1898, the first diesel was
built in the United States by Busch-Zulzer Brothers Diesel Engine Co. Diesel
engines were used to power pipelines, electric and water plants, automobiles
and trucks, and marine craft, and soon after were used in applications
including mines, oil fields, factories, and transoceanic shipping.
Diesel
expected his engine to be powered by vegetable oils (including hemp) and seed
oils. A visionary, he saw his engine as a solution to the inefficient, highly
polluting engines of his time. At the 1900 World's Fair, Diesel ran his engines
on peanut oil.
Diesel
died under mysterious circumstances; his death might have been suicide,
accidental or an assassination. On September 29, 1913, Diesel boarded the SS
Dresden from Antwerp for a short trip across the English Channel to attend the
opening of a new Carels factory in Ipswich, England. Diesel never showed up for
the meeting; his body was discovered days later.
Apparently,
Diesel was broke. Some believe the inventor may have committed suicide as a
consequence of his economic situation. His family believes that Diesel was
thrown overboard and his invention ideas were stolen. Another motive for his
death may well have been the threat his engine posed to monopoly oil profits.
Diesel's
engine offered consumers an economical choice powered by environmentally
friendly fuels, such as vegetable oils. Unfortunately, Diesel's alternative
energy ideas died with him. After his death, his engine was designed to only
run on fossil fuel, as the oil industry produced cheap diesel. (Sources: www.uh.edu, www.energyquest.ca.gov,
and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_Diesel)
The
Dark Knight-Batman/White Ninja/Zorro got off to an excellent start on Monday,
the first day of school. According to his brief description of the day's
activities, he and his classmates spent the day learning the school's rules,
i.e., no fighting, drugs, foul language or reveling attire, including pants
below the derriere and tops above the belly button, etc. Asked how he
envisioned the school year unfolding, the Dark One/Ninja/Zorro confidently
exclaimed, "No sweat!"
By
John Burl Smith
Republicans
have always claimed they would govern the US better than Democrats, because
they would be more fiscally responsible. Pressing their case, Republicans
labeled Democrats "tax and spend liberals." Under the leadership of
George W. Bush, Republicans have thrown away their mantra of fiscal
conservatism. Now big spenders, passage of the $286.4 billion Transportation
Equity Act (TEA) is a role reversal.
According
to Keith Ashdown, Vice President of Taxpayers for Common Sense, "This bill
is by far the most expensive, wasteful highway bill in the nation's history. It
is filled with 6,371 pork projects costing $24 billion dollars. With
Republicans in control of the White House, House and Senate, such wasteful
legislation, leads the nation down the road to fiscal ruin."
Democrats
raised taxes to pay for their spending, whereas spend now and pay later
Republicans, spend, spend and then pass the burden of paying the debt onto our
grandchildren. Calling the transportation bill "One of the biggest
boondoggles in the history of federal spending," Tom Schatz, President of
Citizens Against Government Waste, a watchdog group, estimates that the $24
billion or 8 % in special projects went to pork. Containing millions of dollars
earmarked for lawmakers, the pork that goes to Don Young (R-AK), Chairman of
the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, is a classic example of
the waste.
Young
and his Senate counterpart Ted Stevens (R) secured $1 billion in road projects
for their sparsely populated state. They brought home lots of bacon for 119
Alaskan projects: $250 million for a bridge in Anchorage, another $250 million
for a bridge to connect Ketchikan (pop. 14,000) to Gravina Island (pop. 50),
$15 million for an access road in Juneau, $10 million for road improvements in
Fairbanks, $5 million to relocate a road in Shishmaref and $2 million to study
building a natural gas pipeline from Fairbanks North Star Borough to South-Central
Alaska. Congress even tossed in another $3 million for a documentary film about
how Alaska spends money on its highways. Chairman Young drew catcalls for
naming the bill TEA-LU to honor his wife, Lu Young and renaming Knik Arm
Crossing, the billion-dollar bridge to nowhere, Don Young's Way
Young
was also under pressure to redirect some of the spending from 17 lawmakers that
represent so-called "donor" states. These are states that pay more in
federal gasoline taxes than they get back in highway funding. A part of the
blue states/red states (3/5 Compromise) inequality, "donor" state
representatives complained that they already paid too much to support
"donee" states like Alaska. In recent years, Alaska has received
$6.96 in highway funds for every $1 of gas tax they pay. Although
"donor" states got guarantees they will get back at least 92 percent
of their gas taxes, which is an improvement on the 90.5 percent previously
guaranteed, this is still not equity in transportation as the bill is named.
DeKalb
Bond Referendum
DeKalb
County Georgia's Board of Commissioners is set to vote on placing a bond
referendum on the November 8 ballot. If passed by the Commissioners, voters
will decide whether or not to approve the $235 million bond referendum.
According to DeKalb CEO Vernon Jones, proceeds from the general obligation bonds
over twenty-five (25) years will fund transportation improvements, parks and
recreation facilities and new libraries.
Oddly,
included among the proposed projects for South DeKalb is a new art center. The
inclusion of this item in the proposed projects to be funded is odd because
funds for a South DeKalb art center are supposed to already exist. DeKalb
voters approved and property owners continue to pay for Jones' Greenspace
referendum, which was passed ostensibly to purchase greenspace and fund parks and
recreation facilities. In addition, DeKalb residents pay an additional one-cent
sales tax under the Homeowners Optional Sales Tax (HOST) to fund sidewalks,
curbs, gutters, etc.
The
Jones administration claims the individual property owner's tax liability will
decrease over the life of the bond issue. While it is true this could happen,
if the overall tax digest increases and the millage rate is rolled back. There
is no guarantee the recent rise is property values will continue. Moreover,
rarely is the millage rolled back, despite a rising tax digest. The current tax
year is a prime example.
Under
CEO Jones, DeKalb taxes have only gone up. It is time voters told the Board of
Commissioners that DeKalb taxpayers have had enough. Telephone, write, e-mail
and/or fax board members. Tell them it is time to stop sucking DeKalb property
owners dry.
DeKalb: A Tax Grab
By John Burl Smith
The bane of South DeKalb County Georgia is paying taxes and getting very
little, if any, service in return. Passage of the new transportation bill
(7-29-05) represents another tax grab for DeKalb County.
Recently,
Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA) announced an estimated $185.4 million in highway and
transit funds for Georgia contained in the TEA-LU bill. Alaska got much more
for a single bridge. Isakson listed about fifty line items or earmarks for
Georgia that include $2.5 million in transportation improvements in the City of
Jesup, $21.8 million for transportation improvements in Bartow County, $2
million to widen SR 15 from Clayton's City limits to the North Carolina line
and $3 million for land acquisition in carrying out view shed protection and
wildlife abatement at Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, which is
considered an Atlanta project. DeKalb County did not have one penny earmarked
for any type of improvement.
DeKalb
is the second most populous county in the state and has become a bedroom
community for Atlanta. Unrestricted home building, with few new streets and
little infrastructure improvements, has produced gridlock countywide. DeKalb
County residents pay the lion's share of gas taxes, but receive zero return in
terms of highway transportation funds.
DeKalb
and Fulton Counties pay the one-cent MARTA sales tax, the only dedicated source
of revenue to match federal public transportation dollars. The state, through
the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA), uses MARTA taxes as the
dedicated revenue source to issue bonds to fund mass transit projects in
counties that do not pay MARTA's one-cent sales tax. Consequently, DeKalb's
return on its MARTA taxes is nearly non-existent. Trapped in this 3/5
Compromise of taxation without representation, South DeKalb citizens, more than
any others, fund transportation improvements for Georgians that do not pay
MARTA's one-cent tax.
Dominating
the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC), Cobb, Clayton and Gwinnett Counties
received the lion share of TEA-LU funds. ARC and GRTA form the axis around
which the power to control the flow of transportation funds rotate. Milking
DeKalb of its mass transit tax dollars, while blocking a MARTA train along
I-20, keeps economic development up North and limits competition from the South
end of the county.
DeKalb's
CEO, Board of Commissioners and US Representatives still do not have a plan to
reverse the outflow of tax dollars from DeKalb. Their solution to fund county
improvements is to pile an even greater tax burden on property owners with bond
issues and higher sales taxes. If DeKalb received its rightful share of gas tax
(transportation funds) and controlled MARTA's revenues, citizens would not have
to come out of their pockets to pay for curbs, sidewalks, funds for an art
center or development along Glenwood Road.
Disgruntled
wants to know: According to mainstream media, the US
economy is doing great. It is growing at a respectable rate, and unemployment
continues to hold steady around a relatively low five percent. The latest
employment data show hundreds of thousands of non-manufacturing/non-farm jobs
are being created. A statistic generally not cited in all the "good news"
is discouraged workers, people able to work that are not counted as unemployed
because they are not actively seeking work. Real incomes are declining. And, if
we believe the pundits, the fact that consumers are forced to choose between
buying gasoline and other goods is not an indication of inflation. According to
the consumer price index (CPI), inflation is virtually non-existent, if you
take out energy, food and housing, the essentials of life. Even the high
federal budget and trade deficits do not translate into serious concerns for
the US economic steam engine. Question is, how does all the negative statistics
translate into a robust economy?
Disgruntled
says: The price of a
barrel of oil rose above $67.00. Gasoline at the corner station increased in
tandem. In the not too distant past, gas in the stations' tanks was sold at the
competitive market price, which reflected the price of the oil used in
producing that particular batch of gasoline. Time was economists worth their
salt called what is happening today price-gouging. Today, talking heads posing
as economists try to justify price-gouging as an effort on the part of station
owners to have enough cash on hand to afford a future higher priced inventory.
Truth is, with mergers, acquisitions and consolidations, oil is controlled by
oligarchs; there is no competition in the sense of a lot of small suppliers. In
the absence of effective government regulation to control these oligarchs,
consumers are forced to pay through the nose for everything requiring fossil
fuel from gas to medicine and plastics.
Disgruntled
feels: Obscene! In touting
a year of legislative accomplishments, George W. Bush and the
Republican-controlled Congress pointed to CAFTA (Central American Free Trade
Agreement), pork-filled highway and energy bills, tort and bankruptcy reforms,
etc. There was no mention of reducing the federal debt among this litany of
achievements. The future federal obligation passed on to the next generation
grew greater. With no projected end to the sea of red ink, these dubious
accomplishments, which are stuffed with subsidies, projects and protection for
special interests, are guaranteed to be an obscene embarrassment to the nation
for years to come.
Pump
Pain
Kendra
Smith is a twenty-something Georgia native. Her most recent experiences reflect
the microeconomic impact of rising gasoline prices, declining incomes and a
sluggish job market.
After
graduating from college several years ago, Ms. Smith returned home and landed
an entry level position with a good company. She had high hopes of quickly
moving up and moving out of her parents' DeKalb County home. Ms. Smith needed
transportation to travel to and from work. With her father's assistance, she
purchased a brand new SUV. Her dad thought it was a safe vehicle, she loved
sitting behind the wheel and her mother liked its dark green color.
When
she purchased the gas-guzzler, the low Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFÉ) of
the SUV was not a consideration. However now, she is concerned that it gets too
few miles per gallon. After listening to critics of the new energy bill, Ms.
Smith is disappointed nothing is being done to improve fuel efficiency.
In
early July, Ms. Smith lost her job. Outsourcing, cutbacks, layoffs and a
sluggish job market have made finding another position extremely difficult.
Luckily,
Ms. Smith qualified for unemployment compensation, which paid the note on her
SUV. Unfortunately, it did not afford much more. For instance, when she was
working, Ms. Smith helped her parents with household expenses, even though they
demanded nothing, she felt her parents deserved some compensation for providing
a loving home environment. After all, it she lived someplace else not nearly as
nice, she would have to pay rent. Now, she had nothing to give her parents.
While they seemed alright with the situation, she felt bad about it; but, what
could she do?
Unemployment
compensation did afford gas for the SUV, which made job hunting easier. Yet, as
the price of gasoline continued to race skyward, job hunting became
increasingly expensive Last week, Ms. Smith parked her SUV and took MARTA to
register with a temporary agency. She had hoped her college degree and work
experience would mean she could bypass the temp route to gainful employment,
but apparently not.
Within
days of applying at a temp agency, Ms. Smith got an assignment as an office
assistant. The job pays just enough to classify her as the working poor.
Painfully, the SUV is still parked.
Mailbox: E-Mails, Faxes and Telephone Calls
Email
sundance@houston.rr.com: How Unequal Are We, Anyway? "In 2001,
according to NYU economist Edward Wolff, the richest five percent of American
households controlled over 59 percent of the country's wealth; the richest 20
percent held 83 percent of the wealth; the bottom 80 percent had 17 percent;
and the bottom 40 percent just 0.3 percent. Nearly 31 percent of black
households and more than 13 percent of white households had zero or negative
net worth."
Email
stevo_am@yahoo.com 'How Come You're So
Wrong, My Sweet Neo-con'..."You call yourself a Christian, I call you a
hypocrite...You call yourself a patriot. Well, I think you are full of sh*t!...
How come you're so wrong, my sweet neo-con." Ready to drop in the coming
weeks, the new Bush-bashing tune from the ROLLING STONES: "Sweet Neo
Con" also mocks National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice. The band kicks
off its world tour in Boston on Aug. 21.
Email www.washingtonpost.com One day a
nurse came in to ask Terry Rodgers if he wanted to meet President Bush, who was
visiting the hospital. Rodgers declined. "I don't want anything to do with
him," he explains. "My belief is that his ego is getting people
killed and mutilated for no reason -- just his ego and his reputation. If we
really wanted to, we could pull out of Iraq. Maybe not completely but enough
that we wouldn't be losing people -- at least not at this rate. So I think he
himself is responsible for quite a few American deaths." Rodgers says he
also declined to meet Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and Condoleezza Rice. This
wounded soldier has lost faith in his leaders, and he no longer believes their
repeated assurances of victory.
|| 2005 Issues
|| The DISH ||