The following is a hypothetical newspaper interview that I believe should have already occurred relating to the first weeks of President Barack Obama's tenure as our nation's Chief of State:
INTERVIEWER: "You were recently quoted as saying that you wish President Obama had talked about recycling a lot more than he has. Is that correct?"
POLITICAL ANALYST: "Yes, I do wish that President Obama would put a lot more emphasis on promoting revitalization and rapid expansion of our entire nation's natural-resource recycling industry. That, to me, should be an essential element in revitalization of our nation's economy. What we obviously need is a comprehensive re-alignment of our nation's economy that protects the environment, conserves raw materials and other recyclable items such as plastic or glass, conserves land, conserves energy, and protects the military security and independence of this country."
INTERVIEWER: "Why do you think it is that President Obama has not emphasized recycling enough so far in his term of office?"
POLITICAL ANALYST: "Possibly Obama is worried that the American people would dread the prospect of having to themselves participate in recycling at the household or workplace level. The vast majority of Americans and most American businesses currently do very little in the way of recycling, and may even regard it as unnecessary, in their view.
"President Obama probably senses that the American people are already feeling down from the severe economic recession. He may well have concluded that if he asked them to please recycle during this period of unemployment or under-employment or reduced work hours for them, the American people would resent that."
INTERVIEWER: "That's an interesting theory about what has prompted our President to neglect that issue so far."
POLITICAL ANALYST: "But that's not the only major issue our new President has neglected. I think our President should have the moral courage to say to the American people that rebuilding our nation's economy has to be accompanied by bipartisan qualitative and moral goals for our entire nation.
"We as a nation need to do everything we can to help reduce the role of the alcohol industries, the tobacco industries, the illicit-drug-industries, the gambling industry, the sexual-prostitution industry, and the tattooing industry, for instance. Those industries have all too regrettably caused a perversion of our national economic system and undermined the moral authority and integrity of our nation as a whole."
INTERVIEWER: "You seem to be indicating that you would like to see President Obama emphasize wholesome moral values by American citizens on an individual basis, is that right?"
POLITICAL ANALYST: "Yes, I think that's crucial. The American people need to be reminded that even though Obama is from what may well be the most politically corrupt state in the nation, Obama as our Chief of State will not tolerate the ruination of our nation by illicit-drug dealers, for instance. But we have to keep in mind that a disproportionately high percentage of all of the illicit drug dealers are African-American men, from what I understand. And possibly Obama senses that it would be a thorny issue for him, if he were to address that moral issue at an early stage in his presidency."
INTERVIEWER: "Are you suggesting that Obama should wait 12 months before he comments on the illicit drug crisis in our nation?"
POLITICAL ANALYST: "No, I don't believe that would be wise on his part. I personally feel that President Obama has a need for some well-publicized confrontations between himself and some of the most notorious illicit-drug dealers who have particularly offended him. That type of media event, which he could preside over either in D.C. or Chicago, would remind the people that President Obama will NOT be willing to 'pass the reefer', so to speak. I think that's a very important statement he has to make, in order to demonstrate he has moral authority in the White House."
INTERVIEWER: "I find it interesting that you hint at a Chicago and D.C. duality to the Obama presidency."
POLITICAL ANALYST: "Yes, but it's obvious that very 'Tale of Two Cities' quality to Obama's Presidency could hurt him in the long run. He needs to prove to the American people that his mind is not fixated on Chicago and the District of Columbia, that he is willing to travel to other cities and towns as well. Otherwise, the people in South Carolina are going to wonder whether Obama has an unfair bias toward helping the people of Chicago and our nation's capital, while neglecting South Carolina and its needs."
INTERVIEWER: "On the subject of Presidential neglect, would you also like to see him ask all American citizens, including our nation's teenage residents, to do more in the way of calling 911 and reporting suspected incidents of illegal activities that those Americans observe?"
POLITICAL ANALYST: "Yes, that would be very good for this country. But we have to keep in mind that during Obama's honeymoon period as President, possibly his advisers have told him it might appear 'uncool' of President Obama to urge vigilance and strong support for crime deterrence in this country on the part of all Americans."
INTERVIEWER: "Do you suspect that our new chief of state is determined to distance himself from the style of his immediate predecessor, from that standpoint?"
POLITICAL ANALYST: "Yes, but that can be quite a pitfall for Obama. If Obama proceeds on the assumption that his own ideology and conduct as President have to always differ markedly from what President George W. Bush had done, this could severely undermine Obama's ability to lead our nation in a wise and righteous manner."
INTERVIEWER: "Crime deterrence, by the way, inevitably raises the question of whether Obama is doing anything to ensure a massive nationwide increase, with help from increased foundation support, in funding for drug- or alcohol-addiction-treatment programs."
POLITICAL ANALYST: "That's exactly right. It's obvious that if we could cut our nation's illicit-drug-addiction and alcohol-addiction and tobacco-addiction rate in half, the crime rate in this country would also be significantly reduced."
INTERVIEWER: "Do you truly believe that Obama has the courage and integrity to confront those issues, though?"
POLITICAL ANALYST: "Well, we have to think that Obama's own well-publicized attempt to quit smoking tobacco cigarettes is grounds for hope. I just hope that he will remind the American people every week of his Presidency of why Barack Obama achieved that goal for himself. And, I might add, I just hope he'll encourage all other Americans with that problem to liberate themselves from tobacco products--and from alcohol addiction, for that matter."
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
A True Religious Cause: Hobby Fairs for Youths
My idea of a true religion is a pragmatically idealistic, implicitly-deistic and rationally religious, diligently law-abiding and crime-deterrence-minded, clean-talking, platonically polite, non-stalking, alcohol-free, tobacco-free, non-proselytizing denomination that sponsors wholesome public hobby fairs primarily aimed at addressing the needs of and helping to educate persons age 30 or younger.
I believe very strongly that a true modern religion should help persons age 30 or younger to achieve the best possible start in life during that crucial three-decade period.
Reminding youths and adult young persons under age 30 of the many wholesome, law-abiding, and creative hobbies and pastimes they might wish to learn and pursue, is a truly noble public service that a true religion should be sponsoring.
Among the hobbies or pastimes that young persons could be reminded of at a public hobby fair open to persons of all ages, might be:
---collecting postcards highlighting interesting places throughout one's state or nation or world.
---tea-brewing involving a wide variety of teas from around the world.
---exchanging personal letters during one's leisuretime through a mutual-consent correspondence with a personal friend on a year-round basis.
---joining and becoming involved with a wholesome and idealistic non-profit organization that particularly appeals to oneself.
---learning and pursuing several of the lifelong sports.
---pursuit of racquet sports, including tennis, racquetball, squash, table tennis, and possibly even badminton.
---keeping a personal journal during one's leisuretime on a year-round and lifelong basis.
----mending one's own clothing after a button falls off a shirt, for instance.
----developing a postage stamp collection devoted to a particular theme, such as great political leaders, education, environmental protection, peace, children's rights, human rights, parenthood, religion, literature, the arts, or entertainment.
----cultivating a small indoor botanical "garden" inside one's home that is fragrant or visually attractive on a year-round basis.
----humor-writing and collecting humorous books or movies as a hobby or pastime.
----preparing and baking fresh homemade bread inside one's home on a year-round basis.
----the hobby or pastime of making factual reports to the applicable law-enforcement agency on a year-round basis that relate to possible criminal-law evidence that one has directly observed.
----the hobby of doing crossword puzzles.
----collecting philanthropic and wholesome posters highlighting human beings who evoke a sense of sublime beauty.
----writing letters to government officials that offer public-policy suggestions for the city, county, state, nation, and world in which one lives.
----paddle-boating with a mutual-consent companion while having a nice conversation with that individual.
---visiting and studying museums in one's city, metro area, state, or nation, or elsewhere.
---pursuit of creative brainstorming on a year-round basis, whether in a personal context, a religious context, a pastime-related context, or a professional context.
---
I believe very strongly that a true modern religion should help persons age 30 or younger to achieve the best possible start in life during that crucial three-decade period.
Reminding youths and adult young persons under age 30 of the many wholesome, law-abiding, and creative hobbies and pastimes they might wish to learn and pursue, is a truly noble public service that a true religion should be sponsoring.
Among the hobbies or pastimes that young persons could be reminded of at a public hobby fair open to persons of all ages, might be:
---collecting postcards highlighting interesting places throughout one's state or nation or world.
---tea-brewing involving a wide variety of teas from around the world.
---exchanging personal letters during one's leisuretime through a mutual-consent correspondence with a personal friend on a year-round basis.
---joining and becoming involved with a wholesome and idealistic non-profit organization that particularly appeals to oneself.
---learning and pursuing several of the lifelong sports.
---pursuit of racquet sports, including tennis, racquetball, squash, table tennis, and possibly even badminton.
---keeping a personal journal during one's leisuretime on a year-round and lifelong basis.
----mending one's own clothing after a button falls off a shirt, for instance.
----developing a postage stamp collection devoted to a particular theme, such as great political leaders, education, environmental protection, peace, children's rights, human rights, parenthood, religion, literature, the arts, or entertainment.
----cultivating a small indoor botanical "garden" inside one's home that is fragrant or visually attractive on a year-round basis.
----humor-writing and collecting humorous books or movies as a hobby or pastime.
----preparing and baking fresh homemade bread inside one's home on a year-round basis.
----the hobby or pastime of making factual reports to the applicable law-enforcement agency on a year-round basis that relate to possible criminal-law evidence that one has directly observed.
----the hobby of doing crossword puzzles.
----collecting philanthropic and wholesome posters highlighting human beings who evoke a sense of sublime beauty.
----writing letters to government officials that offer public-policy suggestions for the city, county, state, nation, and world in which one lives.
----paddle-boating with a mutual-consent companion while having a nice conversation with that individual.
---visiting and studying museums in one's city, metro area, state, or nation, or elsewhere.
---pursuit of creative brainstorming on a year-round basis, whether in a personal context, a religious context, a pastime-related context, or a professional context.
---
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Need for Nationwide Recycling Questions Hotline
I hope that President Obama will as soon as possible foster the establishment as soon as possible of a factually reliable and federally-approved nationwide Recycling Hotline phone service.
That proposed new and well-publicized nationwide hotline information service---a service that could be financed in large part by non-profit foundations and the private sector----might provide helpful answers to questions from the general public, such as:
--"A lot of my trash items are packages I bought at a department store that contain both plastic and paper products together in the same package. My tendency is to not bother trying to recycle items like that, since they would not be appropriate in either the plastic recyclables bin or the paper products bin. What do you recommend?"
--"Do you believe there should be additional bins offered at recyclables drop-off places that are exclusively for recyclable items that fall into more than one recyclable-item category, such as plastics and paper products?"
---"Is there a nationwide website information service that invites the consumer to state the zip code or city or town or county or state where he is situated, and that will then immediately inform that consumer about any and all recyclable-items drop-off places situated within that zip code or city or town or county or state."
---"What suggestions would you offer to Americans who are staying in a hotel, for instance, and who are told by the manager of that hotel that it does not currently have a comprehensive policy of recycling any and all applicable trash items left in that hotel room by guests staying there. Do you believe that tourists or out-of-town visitors should be denied the opportunity to recycle fully, for any reason?"
----"How would you respond to those who say that if you recycle envelopes of letters you've received, for instance, some crook could get access to those items and then use that to invade your privacy or steal from you, or pursue some other criminal conduct victimizing yourself."
---"My understanding has always been that I should not put an item in a recycling bin unless I've cleaned it thoroughly in advance. However, I have lots of dirty trash items that would be difficult to clean adequately before I could put them in a recyclables-pickup bin. I tend to resolve challenges of that type by merely tossing that item into the trash can instead. Besides, it is time-consuming to clean dirty trash items of that type. What would you recommend that I do, in cases of that type?"
---"I've heard that citizen participation in natural-resource recycling has a bearing on the national security of this country, since it protects America from having to rely excessively on foreign nations for raw materials. Do you agree that recycling is good for the 'homeland security' of this country?"
---"I often find when I try to participate in recycling that I cannot be sure whether a trash item of mine is made of plastic or something else, or whether it is made of aluminum or some other metal, or whether it would qualify as a 'mixed-paper' item, or is in fact something else. I tend to resolve doubts in my mind by putting that item in the trash can, in order to save time. What do you recommend that I do, in cases of that type?"
---"I found lots of trash-type items in the attic the other day, and many of those items had been manufactured or made several decades ago. Is there any expiration date on recycling an item? Can an item that was manufactured in 1930, say, be recycled in the year 2009?"
---"I tend to look upon trash items as germ-spreading, and for that reason my first impulse is to simply keep all of my trash items together in a fully-secured trash can. Is there any basis for my concern that if I try to store recyclable items in a separate and open-air bin inside my residence, this might subject me to bacteria and other unwanted germs that could harm my own medical health?"
---"What is the earliest age at which you recommend that an American citizen should participate in recycling?"
---"How old should my children be before I attempt to teach them about the importance of recycling? Would age 4 be a good age for that, or would you recommend that I begin to teach my child about recycling when he's age 2 or 3?"
---"Do you recommend that I assign my children to collect recyclable items from the front yard or back yard as a chore for which they can earn allowance money from me? Or does that type of request tend to trigger negative attitudes toward recycling by most children, do you find?"
---"I have a relative who tells me that since he is sure he is being stalked during this period, which he has reported to his local police department, he does not have the option of attempting to participate in recycling. Any such participation in recycling by my relative could give the stalker the opportunity to secretly study the lifestyle of my relative, and to then ruthlessly exploit the private facts about my relative that had been gleaned by the stalker in that context. My relative says he shreds everything, in order to prevent a would-be stalker from surreptitously spying on my relative, and that my relative assumes that shredded items are not easily recycled, in any event. Is that true?"
---"My husband tells me that he prefers what he assumes to be the Presidential style of shredding everything, and not recycling, since this is the best way to protect our household's privacy, my husband says. Do you agree with my husband on that?"
---"If I put a recyclable item into a bin for recyclables and that trash item needs additional cleaning before it can be recycled, is there anyone who would do that for me? Or does that item just get tossed into a trash can as a reject?"
---"I don't have the time to remove paper labels affixed to plastic jugs of milk that I store. Is it okay for me to put a plastic milk jug into a recyclables bin, even if it still has some paper packing on that plastic milk jug?"
----"Is there a religious aspect to natural-resource recycling? Am I more likely to go to Heaven if I recycle religiously?"
That proposed new and well-publicized nationwide hotline information service---a service that could be financed in large part by non-profit foundations and the private sector----might provide helpful answers to questions from the general public, such as:
--"A lot of my trash items are packages I bought at a department store that contain both plastic and paper products together in the same package. My tendency is to not bother trying to recycle items like that, since they would not be appropriate in either the plastic recyclables bin or the paper products bin. What do you recommend?"
--"Do you believe there should be additional bins offered at recyclables drop-off places that are exclusively for recyclable items that fall into more than one recyclable-item category, such as plastics and paper products?"
---"Is there a nationwide website information service that invites the consumer to state the zip code or city or town or county or state where he is situated, and that will then immediately inform that consumer about any and all recyclable-items drop-off places situated within that zip code or city or town or county or state."
---"What suggestions would you offer to Americans who are staying in a hotel, for instance, and who are told by the manager of that hotel that it does not currently have a comprehensive policy of recycling any and all applicable trash items left in that hotel room by guests staying there. Do you believe that tourists or out-of-town visitors should be denied the opportunity to recycle fully, for any reason?"
----"How would you respond to those who say that if you recycle envelopes of letters you've received, for instance, some crook could get access to those items and then use that to invade your privacy or steal from you, or pursue some other criminal conduct victimizing yourself."
---"My understanding has always been that I should not put an item in a recycling bin unless I've cleaned it thoroughly in advance. However, I have lots of dirty trash items that would be difficult to clean adequately before I could put them in a recyclables-pickup bin. I tend to resolve challenges of that type by merely tossing that item into the trash can instead. Besides, it is time-consuming to clean dirty trash items of that type. What would you recommend that I do, in cases of that type?"
---"I've heard that citizen participation in natural-resource recycling has a bearing on the national security of this country, since it protects America from having to rely excessively on foreign nations for raw materials. Do you agree that recycling is good for the 'homeland security' of this country?"
---"I often find when I try to participate in recycling that I cannot be sure whether a trash item of mine is made of plastic or something else, or whether it is made of aluminum or some other metal, or whether it would qualify as a 'mixed-paper' item, or is in fact something else. I tend to resolve doubts in my mind by putting that item in the trash can, in order to save time. What do you recommend that I do, in cases of that type?"
---"I found lots of trash-type items in the attic the other day, and many of those items had been manufactured or made several decades ago. Is there any expiration date on recycling an item? Can an item that was manufactured in 1930, say, be recycled in the year 2009?"
---"I tend to look upon trash items as germ-spreading, and for that reason my first impulse is to simply keep all of my trash items together in a fully-secured trash can. Is there any basis for my concern that if I try to store recyclable items in a separate and open-air bin inside my residence, this might subject me to bacteria and other unwanted germs that could harm my own medical health?"
---"What is the earliest age at which you recommend that an American citizen should participate in recycling?"
---"How old should my children be before I attempt to teach them about the importance of recycling? Would age 4 be a good age for that, or would you recommend that I begin to teach my child about recycling when he's age 2 or 3?"
---"Do you recommend that I assign my children to collect recyclable items from the front yard or back yard as a chore for which they can earn allowance money from me? Or does that type of request tend to trigger negative attitudes toward recycling by most children, do you find?"
---"I have a relative who tells me that since he is sure he is being stalked during this period, which he has reported to his local police department, he does not have the option of attempting to participate in recycling. Any such participation in recycling by my relative could give the stalker the opportunity to secretly study the lifestyle of my relative, and to then ruthlessly exploit the private facts about my relative that had been gleaned by the stalker in that context. My relative says he shreds everything, in order to prevent a would-be stalker from surreptitously spying on my relative, and that my relative assumes that shredded items are not easily recycled, in any event. Is that true?"
---"My husband tells me that he prefers what he assumes to be the Presidential style of shredding everything, and not recycling, since this is the best way to protect our household's privacy, my husband says. Do you agree with my husband on that?"
---"If I put a recyclable item into a bin for recyclables and that trash item needs additional cleaning before it can be recycled, is there anyone who would do that for me? Or does that item just get tossed into a trash can as a reject?"
---"I don't have the time to remove paper labels affixed to plastic jugs of milk that I store. Is it okay for me to put a plastic milk jug into a recyclables bin, even if it still has some paper packing on that plastic milk jug?"
----"Is there a religious aspect to natural-resource recycling? Am I more likely to go to Heaven if I recycle religiously?"
A Proposed Weekly Theme for Obama Re: Recycling
I am very hopeful that President Barack Obama will establish a weekly tradition of each week publicly praising and publicly describing to the American people the most recent example of a natural-resource recycling project being pursued by a cited business entity, a cited non-profit group, a cited religious congregation, a cited civic group, a cited fraternity or sorority, a cited educational institution, a cited family or household, or a cited individual, that President Obama believes will help to protect the HUMAN RIGHT OF ACCESS TO AN ABUNDANT SUPPLY OF GLASS, PAPER PRODUCTS, PLASTIC GOODS, ALUMINUM GOODS, ETC., IN THE 22ND CENTURY AS WELL.
I also hope that Presidnet Obama will make a point of offering the American people a weekly or monthly progress report on efforts to increase participation in natural-resource recycling and recycling of items such as plastic as well, that are occurring anywhere in the United States.
The more that the American people associate President Obama in his televised speeches or remarks or radio speeches or remarks with the term "recycle" or "recycling" --- and the more that "recycle" becomes our entire nation's secular slogan or mantra that's fervently embraced by all Americans----the greater the integrity and future and security of our often-great American society will be.
No matter what the crises facing American society in 2009, we must always be mindful at all times of seeking to protect the right of the millions of individuals who will be living in this country in 2109 as well---not to mention the human right of access to recyclable materials for all persons living in this country at present.
I also hope that Presidnet Obama will make a point of offering the American people a weekly or monthly progress report on efforts to increase participation in natural-resource recycling and recycling of items such as plastic as well, that are occurring anywhere in the United States.
The more that the American people associate President Obama in his televised speeches or remarks or radio speeches or remarks with the term "recycle" or "recycling" --- and the more that "recycle" becomes our entire nation's secular slogan or mantra that's fervently embraced by all Americans----the greater the integrity and future and security of our often-great American society will be.
No matter what the crises facing American society in 2009, we must always be mindful at all times of seeking to protect the right of the millions of individuals who will be living in this country in 2109 as well---not to mention the human right of access to recyclable materials for all persons living in this country at present.
Restaurants and Natural-Resource Recycling
I am very hopeful that the Obama Administration in the near future will sponsor a study to determine which industries in the United States of America currently have the lowest levels of participation in natural-resource recycling.
That proposed federal study might also help to determine how incentives could be offered that would help to encourage each and every restaurant throughout the entire United States to participate fully in comprehensive and very conscientious natural-resource recycling on a year-round basis.
It would be natural-resource reycling, I might add, that in the long run should generate lots of additional revenues and additional net profits for each of those restaurants in the United States.
From what I have observed as a paying guest in numerous restaurants throughout Texas who has myself made inquiries about the matter during my leisuretime inside many of those restaurants, I sense that the American restaurant industry currently lags far behind many other American industries in the level of participation in recycling of any and all recyclable trash items generated or received inside those respective business establishments.
I also am hopeful that the U.S. Government under President Obama's leadership will encourage banking institutions or the federal government, even, to offer long-term, very low-interest recycling-related loans to any and all for-profit or non-profit businesses operating in the United States---financial loans that would be used exclusively by each of those businesses for development of comprehensive natural-recycling programs involving full participation in natural-resource recycling by each of those busineses and their various offices or buildings they use that generate waste products, such as trash.
That proposed federal study might also help to determine how incentives could be offered that would help to encourage each and every restaurant throughout the entire United States to participate fully in comprehensive and very conscientious natural-resource recycling on a year-round basis.
It would be natural-resource reycling, I might add, that in the long run should generate lots of additional revenues and additional net profits for each of those restaurants in the United States.
From what I have observed as a paying guest in numerous restaurants throughout Texas who has myself made inquiries about the matter during my leisuretime inside many of those restaurants, I sense that the American restaurant industry currently lags far behind many other American industries in the level of participation in recycling of any and all recyclable trash items generated or received inside those respective business establishments.
I also am hopeful that the U.S. Government under President Obama's leadership will encourage banking institutions or the federal government, even, to offer long-term, very low-interest recycling-related loans to any and all for-profit or non-profit businesses operating in the United States---financial loans that would be used exclusively by each of those businesses for development of comprehensive natural-recycling programs involving full participation in natural-resource recycling by each of those busineses and their various offices or buildings they use that generate waste products, such as trash.
Proposed Construction Project for Obama Administration
President Obama,
I would like to urge you today to please help establish as soon as possible a partnership between the U.S. Government, state and local governments, and the private sector toward construction of train-route overpasses over each and every current ground-level intersection that currently exists anywhere in the United States betweeen any train service of any type and roadways serving motorists.
The proposed construction project would also include renovation-related construction projects aimed at strengthening existing rail-route overpasses anywhere in the United States that are in need of repair work.
I am convinced, Mr. President, that a proposed nationwide construction project exclusively focused on that one crucial public-safety matter relating to rail-transportation services, would save many human lives in this country each year.
In addition, the proposed American Rail Overpass Construction Plan would significantly boost all Americans' level of confidence in rail-transportation services, whether that be passenger-train services, light-rail-transit passenger train services, or freight-train services, throughout our entire nation.
Increased participation by, and increased support by, Americans throughout our entire country in rail-transportation mass transportation systems, will help to conserve fossil fuels and reduce air pollution levels while conserving land, protecting existing agricultural and ranchland and wilderness land, and reducing noise pollution levels throughout our entire nation.
Thank you in advance, Mr. President, for your kind interest in this very crucial public-policy issue. I hope to hear from you soon.
Sincerely and Best Wishes,
John Kevin McMillan of Austin, Texas.
I would like to urge you today to please help establish as soon as possible a partnership between the U.S. Government, state and local governments, and the private sector toward construction of train-route overpasses over each and every current ground-level intersection that currently exists anywhere in the United States betweeen any train service of any type and roadways serving motorists.
The proposed construction project would also include renovation-related construction projects aimed at strengthening existing rail-route overpasses anywhere in the United States that are in need of repair work.
I am convinced, Mr. President, that a proposed nationwide construction project exclusively focused on that one crucial public-safety matter relating to rail-transportation services, would save many human lives in this country each year.
In addition, the proposed American Rail Overpass Construction Plan would significantly boost all Americans' level of confidence in rail-transportation services, whether that be passenger-train services, light-rail-transit passenger train services, or freight-train services, throughout our entire nation.
Increased participation by, and increased support by, Americans throughout our entire country in rail-transportation mass transportation systems, will help to conserve fossil fuels and reduce air pollution levels while conserving land, protecting existing agricultural and ranchland and wilderness land, and reducing noise pollution levels throughout our entire nation.
Thank you in advance, Mr. President, for your kind interest in this very crucial public-policy issue. I hope to hear from you soon.
Sincerely and Best Wishes,
John Kevin McMillan of Austin, Texas.
Qualitative Re-Alignment of U.S. Economy Urgently Needed
The financial depression of the U.S. economy could be viewed by our President as an opportunity to insist on a comprehensively qualitative and wise re-alignment of our entire nation's economy.
For instance, President Obama could seize this opportunity to promulgate to the American people his Administration's increasing reliance on innovative new environmental-protection-related indexes for evaluating the economy in the United States.
President Obama could also insist that those environmental-quality-minded and natural-resource-minded indexes for evaluating our nation's level of economic strength, and for evaluating each company's overall caliber, could also become increasingly influential as guides to be consulted by Wall Street investors and Wall Street analysts.
Among the wide array of additional qualitative priorities that Obama as our Chief of State could insist on being met as soon as possible are:
---the approval by the U.S. Congress of a Nationwide minimal housing standards and minimal commercial structure standards act. At present, many of the so-called "new" buildings look as if they were tossed together overnight, with no one, least of all the architect, having any expectation that that building would last more than 10 or 20 years.
Architects and builders who are responsible for buildings not designed or built to last, are severely undermining the housing stock and integrity of this entire nation.
----the approval by the U.S. Congress of a new federal law requiring that each new commercial or residential building being constructed anywhere in this country must meet or exceeed minimal energy-efficiency and sound-proofing standards that, in the latter case, protect occupants in and visitors to those buildings from being victimized by noise pollution.
----the approval by the U.S. Congress of a new federal law imposing a nationwide ban on construction of one-story buildings. That proposed new federal law would help to conserve land, including wilderness land and agricultural land or ranchland, throughout this nation, while promoting an admirably compact style of commercial and residential property development in each village, town, suburb, and city.
---the approval by the U.S. Congress of a nationwide sidewalk construction plan that sets minimal federal standards for sidewalk-access by pedestrians that each municipality must meet or exceed.
---a 20 percent increase, if applicable, by each and every American household or citizen in their household's or their own level of participation in natural-resource recycling in 2009, as compared with last year.
---promulgation to our entire nation of President Obama's view that each American home owner who installs solar panels or wind-power generators on the property of that home is "helping to protect the national security of the United States, and the integrity of this country."
The relationship between homeowners' lifestyle conduct in that way, and protection of the military security and public safety and intregity of the American people and American society, is a theme that our Chief of State should be repeatedly and very eloquently making in public speeches during this period.
----promulgation of the emphatic view that President Obama seeks to help purge or eliminate the "illicit sectors of our national economy" from our nation's economy. President Obama could do that by establishing a special federal career-retraining program aimed at helping illicit-drug-dealers who confess their crime and seek to turn over a new (NON-marijuana) leaf, to learn how to enter the LICIT (LEGAL) economy of this country and financially support themselves in a law-abiding manner.
Thus far, I have not heard of any training program aimed at helping drug dealers to find a way to become financially successful in a law-abiding and honorable manner.
For instance, President Obama could seize this opportunity to promulgate to the American people his Administration's increasing reliance on innovative new environmental-protection-related indexes for evaluating the economy in the United States.
President Obama could also insist that those environmental-quality-minded and natural-resource-minded indexes for evaluating our nation's level of economic strength, and for evaluating each company's overall caliber, could also become increasingly influential as guides to be consulted by Wall Street investors and Wall Street analysts.
Among the wide array of additional qualitative priorities that Obama as our Chief of State could insist on being met as soon as possible are:
---the approval by the U.S. Congress of a Nationwide minimal housing standards and minimal commercial structure standards act. At present, many of the so-called "new" buildings look as if they were tossed together overnight, with no one, least of all the architect, having any expectation that that building would last more than 10 or 20 years.
Architects and builders who are responsible for buildings not designed or built to last, are severely undermining the housing stock and integrity of this entire nation.
----the approval by the U.S. Congress of a new federal law requiring that each new commercial or residential building being constructed anywhere in this country must meet or exceeed minimal energy-efficiency and sound-proofing standards that, in the latter case, protect occupants in and visitors to those buildings from being victimized by noise pollution.
----the approval by the U.S. Congress of a new federal law imposing a nationwide ban on construction of one-story buildings. That proposed new federal law would help to conserve land, including wilderness land and agricultural land or ranchland, throughout this nation, while promoting an admirably compact style of commercial and residential property development in each village, town, suburb, and city.
---the approval by the U.S. Congress of a nationwide sidewalk construction plan that sets minimal federal standards for sidewalk-access by pedestrians that each municipality must meet or exceed.
---a 20 percent increase, if applicable, by each and every American household or citizen in their household's or their own level of participation in natural-resource recycling in 2009, as compared with last year.
---promulgation to our entire nation of President Obama's view that each American home owner who installs solar panels or wind-power generators on the property of that home is "helping to protect the national security of the United States, and the integrity of this country."
The relationship between homeowners' lifestyle conduct in that way, and protection of the military security and public safety and intregity of the American people and American society, is a theme that our Chief of State should be repeatedly and very eloquently making in public speeches during this period.
----promulgation of the emphatic view that President Obama seeks to help purge or eliminate the "illicit sectors of our national economy" from our nation's economy. President Obama could do that by establishing a special federal career-retraining program aimed at helping illicit-drug-dealers who confess their crime and seek to turn over a new (NON-marijuana) leaf, to learn how to enter the LICIT (LEGAL) economy of this country and financially support themselves in a law-abiding manner.
Thus far, I have not heard of any training program aimed at helping drug dealers to find a way to become financially successful in a law-abiding and honorable manner.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Valentine's Day Challenge to President Obama
Dear United States President Obama,
I am celebrating Valentine's Day this evening by asking you, our Chief of State, to please show a depth of true platonic or brotherly love for our entire nation, including for all current and future generations of Americans, by:
---pledging yourself to stop any and all future counterparts to Al Capone in this country from themselves turning some current or future Valentine's Day into a violent massacre inflicted on anyone by any organized crime group.
It is imperative, Mr. President, that you make it clear to our entire nation that you strongly and fervently oppose organized crime, and that even though you are from one of the most politically corrupt cities in America, Chicago, where Al Capone once inflicted terror upon our entire nation, you are determined to have the strongest record of any President at opposing organized crime.
---establishing a new tradition of conferring Presidential awards on the nobly vigilant Americans who in a very honorable and meritorious manner in the most recent 12-month period, say, have reported to a law-enforcement agency in the United States, or to a work supervisor of theirs, evidence of possibly illegal conduct they have observed in the United States.
---presiding over the establishment of an annual "Role of DNA Evidence in Crime Deterrence" public symposium in Washington, D.C. DNA evidence is proving to be particularly invaluable in criminal-law prosecution of shockingly immoral persons who commmitted the violent, unconscionable, and heinous crime of homicide. An annual or semiannual public symposia in our nation's capital, exploring the potential of DNA evidence on behalf of crime deterrence throughout this entire nation, would be invaluable. That DNA evidence, as I'm sure you would heartily agree, is also invaluable on behalf of protecting the integrity of court-ordered capital punishment of convicted murderers in the United States. (I'm also a law-abiding and crime-deterrence-minded adult constituent of yours who strongly and heartily supports revision of the criminal law throughout the United States to authorize court-ordered capital punishment of any person, regardless of his or her own legal-status-adult age, racial, ethnic, religious, sexual, or gender identity, who ever at any time is himself or herself found guilty in a court of law of the unconscionable crime of attempted homicide in the United States.)
---yourself and First Lady Michelle Obama giving as many public speeches as possible about why each of you chose to refrain from consuming any illicit drug or tobacco product, and why each of you (if true) almost never consumes alcohol, and why each of you urges all Americans to pursue a physical-fitness and personal hygiene strategy on a year-round and lifelong basis.
---diligently pursuing public-policy actions aimed at liberating millions of Americans from the pervasively injurious grip on their lives that has been inflicted on them by their addiction to illicit drugs, alcohol, tobacco products, stalking, anonymous communications that they directly and deliberately inflict on others, or profane speech, with help from treatment programs for each of those specific injurious addictions.
---insisting on establishment of a truly comprehensive and very-easy-to-follow nationwide natural recycling program in each city, suburb, small town, and rural area throughout our entire nation.
To help capture our entire nation's interest in that vital cause, Mr. President, you might want to name it "Operation Renew" or "Re-New America" or "Recycle or Ruination" or "21st Century America Revitalization Program," or some such term that might capture the imagination of an entire nation.
You could achieve this goal, Mr. President, partly by delivering a televised speech to our entire nation in which you remind our entire nation of which European nations and which Asian nations, for instance, currently recycle a significantly higher percentage of all recyclable materials in that nation than does American society. It is obvious that the United States Government and American society are tragically behind in that crucial evaluator of the level of integrity of our often-great nation. By contrast, nations such as Sweden, Japan, Great Britain, and Germany appear to have superior records in that category than does the United States of America (and I have not seen the most recent statistics on this, Mr. President, but I'm confident that those four nations have better records in that way than the United States does).
---To help boost citizen participation in our nationwide recycling program, you could ask Congress to approve a new federal law requiring that any and all manufactured goods sold in the United States must comply with a federally-specified uniformity in labeling code for stating whether that items can be recycled, and if so, the exact type of recyclable material found in that product. An example might be: "Contains Recyclable Manufactured Good: ALUMINUM." Many consumers at present are not sure which recyclable materials are contained in any given manufactured product. Those consumers may then cite that uncertainty as an "excuse" for failing to help recycle that product by placing it in a pick-up bin for that category (glass, plastic, paper, cardboard, etc.) of recyclable item.
----insisting on the establishment of as many additional safe and comfortable and speedy and energy-efficient rail-passenger systems (including a high-speed Los Angeles to New York bullet train) throughout this entire nation as you believe are needed. It is obvious that a conversion to speedy rail-based mass transportation systems will play a crucial role in liberating the United States of America from excessive reliance on fossil fuels. In addition, establishment of a comprehensive network of passenger-train rail transit systems throughout the entire United States will help to boost the security of this country, as experts on national security matters have concluded.
----insisting on a nationwide policy of zero tolerance toward deliberate acts of prevarication and fraudulent or anonymous communications, all such communications being a form of terrorism within this nation that severely undermines the integrity of this often-great nation.
Mr. President, you could help to promote this crucial theme for our entire nation by promulgating a Presidential policy pledging to dismiss or fire any federal official who is ever at any time determined to have verbalized a noteworthy lie or noteworthy and significant act of prevarication, or who ever participated in anonymous communications of any type, in or through a communication by that individual of which you yourself become aware.
----presiding over the establishment of a nationwide awards tradition honoring American citizens who in the most recent 12-month period were identified as having invented a new product or service that holds promise for significantly enhancing the quality of life and integrity of Americans and American society.
---insisting on the approval of new federal legislation that bans trans fats from manufactured food products and beverages that are sold in any retail store in the United States, and that also bans trans fats from any and all foods and beverages served in restaurants or cafes.
----insisting on the approval by Congress of strict new and nationwide building-code regulations that significantly enhance the level of energy efficiency and energy conservation, and that enhance the level of durability of each and every new building being constructed in the United States.
Thank you, Mr. President, for demonstrating to all of American society in this and other ways that you truly have a heart for America, and for the potential greatness that is America.
Sincerely and Best Wishes,
from John Kevin McMillan, a direct descendant of the Rev. William Brewster, head chaplain on the Mayflower, who myself resides in Austin, Texas.
I am celebrating Valentine's Day this evening by asking you, our Chief of State, to please show a depth of true platonic or brotherly love for our entire nation, including for all current and future generations of Americans, by:
---pledging yourself to stop any and all future counterparts to Al Capone in this country from themselves turning some current or future Valentine's Day into a violent massacre inflicted on anyone by any organized crime group.
It is imperative, Mr. President, that you make it clear to our entire nation that you strongly and fervently oppose organized crime, and that even though you are from one of the most politically corrupt cities in America, Chicago, where Al Capone once inflicted terror upon our entire nation, you are determined to have the strongest record of any President at opposing organized crime.
---establishing a new tradition of conferring Presidential awards on the nobly vigilant Americans who in a very honorable and meritorious manner in the most recent 12-month period, say, have reported to a law-enforcement agency in the United States, or to a work supervisor of theirs, evidence of possibly illegal conduct they have observed in the United States.
---presiding over the establishment of an annual "Role of DNA Evidence in Crime Deterrence" public symposium in Washington, D.C. DNA evidence is proving to be particularly invaluable in criminal-law prosecution of shockingly immoral persons who commmitted the violent, unconscionable, and heinous crime of homicide. An annual or semiannual public symposia in our nation's capital, exploring the potential of DNA evidence on behalf of crime deterrence throughout this entire nation, would be invaluable. That DNA evidence, as I'm sure you would heartily agree, is also invaluable on behalf of protecting the integrity of court-ordered capital punishment of convicted murderers in the United States. (I'm also a law-abiding and crime-deterrence-minded adult constituent of yours who strongly and heartily supports revision of the criminal law throughout the United States to authorize court-ordered capital punishment of any person, regardless of his or her own legal-status-adult age, racial, ethnic, religious, sexual, or gender identity, who ever at any time is himself or herself found guilty in a court of law of the unconscionable crime of attempted homicide in the United States.)
---yourself and First Lady Michelle Obama giving as many public speeches as possible about why each of you chose to refrain from consuming any illicit drug or tobacco product, and why each of you (if true) almost never consumes alcohol, and why each of you urges all Americans to pursue a physical-fitness and personal hygiene strategy on a year-round and lifelong basis.
---diligently pursuing public-policy actions aimed at liberating millions of Americans from the pervasively injurious grip on their lives that has been inflicted on them by their addiction to illicit drugs, alcohol, tobacco products, stalking, anonymous communications that they directly and deliberately inflict on others, or profane speech, with help from treatment programs for each of those specific injurious addictions.
---insisting on establishment of a truly comprehensive and very-easy-to-follow nationwide natural recycling program in each city, suburb, small town, and rural area throughout our entire nation.
To help capture our entire nation's interest in that vital cause, Mr. President, you might want to name it "Operation Renew" or "Re-New America" or "Recycle or Ruination" or "21st Century America Revitalization Program," or some such term that might capture the imagination of an entire nation.
You could achieve this goal, Mr. President, partly by delivering a televised speech to our entire nation in which you remind our entire nation of which European nations and which Asian nations, for instance, currently recycle a significantly higher percentage of all recyclable materials in that nation than does American society. It is obvious that the United States Government and American society are tragically behind in that crucial evaluator of the level of integrity of our often-great nation. By contrast, nations such as Sweden, Japan, Great Britain, and Germany appear to have superior records in that category than does the United States of America (and I have not seen the most recent statistics on this, Mr. President, but I'm confident that those four nations have better records in that way than the United States does).
---To help boost citizen participation in our nationwide recycling program, you could ask Congress to approve a new federal law requiring that any and all manufactured goods sold in the United States must comply with a federally-specified uniformity in labeling code for stating whether that items can be recycled, and if so, the exact type of recyclable material found in that product. An example might be: "Contains Recyclable Manufactured Good: ALUMINUM." Many consumers at present are not sure which recyclable materials are contained in any given manufactured product. Those consumers may then cite that uncertainty as an "excuse" for failing to help recycle that product by placing it in a pick-up bin for that category (glass, plastic, paper, cardboard, etc.) of recyclable item.
----insisting on the establishment of as many additional safe and comfortable and speedy and energy-efficient rail-passenger systems (including a high-speed Los Angeles to New York bullet train) throughout this entire nation as you believe are needed. It is obvious that a conversion to speedy rail-based mass transportation systems will play a crucial role in liberating the United States of America from excessive reliance on fossil fuels. In addition, establishment of a comprehensive network of passenger-train rail transit systems throughout the entire United States will help to boost the security of this country, as experts on national security matters have concluded.
----insisting on a nationwide policy of zero tolerance toward deliberate acts of prevarication and fraudulent or anonymous communications, all such communications being a form of terrorism within this nation that severely undermines the integrity of this often-great nation.
Mr. President, you could help to promote this crucial theme for our entire nation by promulgating a Presidential policy pledging to dismiss or fire any federal official who is ever at any time determined to have verbalized a noteworthy lie or noteworthy and significant act of prevarication, or who ever participated in anonymous communications of any type, in or through a communication by that individual of which you yourself become aware.
----presiding over the establishment of a nationwide awards tradition honoring American citizens who in the most recent 12-month period were identified as having invented a new product or service that holds promise for significantly enhancing the quality of life and integrity of Americans and American society.
---insisting on the approval of new federal legislation that bans trans fats from manufactured food products and beverages that are sold in any retail store in the United States, and that also bans trans fats from any and all foods and beverages served in restaurants or cafes.
----insisting on the approval by Congress of strict new and nationwide building-code regulations that significantly enhance the level of energy efficiency and energy conservation, and that enhance the level of durability of each and every new building being constructed in the United States.
Thank you, Mr. President, for demonstrating to all of American society in this and other ways that you truly have a heart for America, and for the potential greatness that is America.
Sincerely and Best Wishes,
from John Kevin McMillan, a direct descendant of the Rev. William Brewster, head chaplain on the Mayflower, who myself resides in Austin, Texas.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
State Rep. Howard's Unfriendly Conduct Is Anti-Texan
Democratic Party-affilated State Representative Donna Howard of the Austin area of Texas has made it very clear that she has no interest in having a "Texas Friendship Day" annual tradition be officially established by the Texas Legislature.
Rep. Howard's shockingly aloof indifference on the matter is occurring in a U.S. state that derives its very name from the Caddo Indian word for "friendship," and that traditionally has emphasized that Texans are the friendliest people in the entire United States.
State Rep. Howard's indifference toward a proposed annual Texas Friendship Day resolution by the Texas Legislature is also ocurring in a U.S. state whose official state mottto is, in fact, "friendship."
In a tersely-worded and decidedly unhelpful, February 10, 2009-dated and signed reply letter to myself on official Texas Legislature stationery---a reply letter that provided no explanation of any type for her public-policy position on the matter --- Rep. Howard of the Austin area wrote the following verbatim reply letter in its entirety:
"Dear Mr. McMillan:
"Thank you for contacting me regarding a resolution for 'Texas Friendship Day.'
"I will not be filing a resolution for 'Texas Friendship Day' in the 81st Legislature. Feel free to contact other state lawmakers with your request.
"Thank you again for taking the time to share your thoughts with me.
"Sincerely,
"Donna Howard
"DH/sd."
The inevitable question that arises is, Which of the hundreds of state legislators in Texas is, in fact, the friendliest?
It is obvious that that friendliest legislator is someone OTHER than State Rep. Donna Howard.
Rep. Howard, for the record, has never once spoken with me on the telephone or in person, on any occasion, nor has she ever once invited me to meet with her in person at her legislative office, even though I have sent her dozens of public-policy letters and E-mail letters throughout her tenure thus far in the Legislature.
Any persons who happen to know the name of the friendliest legislator in the Texas House or Senate these days, are hereby invited to please share that information with me as soon as possible.
I will then make a point of contacting that state lawmaker's legislative office and politely and in a friendly manner asking that honorable and truly nice state legislator in Texas to sponsor this session of the Legislature a proposed "Texas Friendship Day" annual tradition for all of Texas.
Rep. Howard's shockingly aloof indifference on the matter is occurring in a U.S. state that derives its very name from the Caddo Indian word for "friendship," and that traditionally has emphasized that Texans are the friendliest people in the entire United States.
State Rep. Howard's indifference toward a proposed annual Texas Friendship Day resolution by the Texas Legislature is also ocurring in a U.S. state whose official state mottto is, in fact, "friendship."
In a tersely-worded and decidedly unhelpful, February 10, 2009-dated and signed reply letter to myself on official Texas Legislature stationery---a reply letter that provided no explanation of any type for her public-policy position on the matter --- Rep. Howard of the Austin area wrote the following verbatim reply letter in its entirety:
"Dear Mr. McMillan:
"Thank you for contacting me regarding a resolution for 'Texas Friendship Day.'
"I will not be filing a resolution for 'Texas Friendship Day' in the 81st Legislature. Feel free to contact other state lawmakers with your request.
"Thank you again for taking the time to share your thoughts with me.
"Sincerely,
"Donna Howard
"DH/sd."
The inevitable question that arises is, Which of the hundreds of state legislators in Texas is, in fact, the friendliest?
It is obvious that that friendliest legislator is someone OTHER than State Rep. Donna Howard.
Rep. Howard, for the record, has never once spoken with me on the telephone or in person, on any occasion, nor has she ever once invited me to meet with her in person at her legislative office, even though I have sent her dozens of public-policy letters and E-mail letters throughout her tenure thus far in the Legislature.
Any persons who happen to know the name of the friendliest legislator in the Texas House or Senate these days, are hereby invited to please share that information with me as soon as possible.
I will then make a point of contacting that state lawmaker's legislative office and politely and in a friendly manner asking that honorable and truly nice state legislator in Texas to sponsor this session of the Legislature a proposed "Texas Friendship Day" annual tradition for all of Texas.
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