I'm kinda getting used to the way these things run, & have learned to "go with" what strikes me. Today we were presented with a table full of postcards. We were asked to select one & write a travel diary entry that would represent its story. The card that "struck" me was a picture of a broken lightbulb. I knew why, even as I walked back to my seat, & could hardly get to my pen/paper fast enough. What flowed from my pen was not exactly what one would call a 'travel diary entry,' but I wrote "my truth" in the moment nonetheless.
Thomas Edison's Broken Bulb
Time crashes forward as waves in the surf. We are a remnant of life once lived, now drowning in bureaucracy, swallowing, sputtering, choking.
Will we find, on the slick coral, purchase to propel ourselves loose? Will we ever twist free of that which ensnares us?
Bureaucracy cannot, must not filter its tentacles into our lives so deep, such that we trap ourselves within our own collective power.
God help us! Prevent this suicide from on-high, from within.
Else, like the broken bulb - or Atlantis - our culture will lie in shattered ruin at the bottom of the ocean floor.
Yep. My truth.
I do NOT appreciate the intrusion into my personal space, my home, my way of life. That should NOT be the government's role in American life, and I resent it. In my humble opinion, it's the beginning of that proverbial slide down a 'slippery slope' into a dark place in history, maybe even to the bottom of the ocean floor.
~~
Don't Tread on Me.
~~~
Don't Tread on Me.
~~~
28 comments:
Good post. I don't like those portable hazardous waste sites either.
Hey Crucis! Yeah...'portable hazardous waste' sounds like "accident waiting to happen" to me... Have a blessed Sunday.
Thank you! Not going to church today. Arthritis flare-up. Only the 2nd time I've missed this year.
So sorry about that, Crucis. Have just prayed for you - for calming of the 'flare,' for restoration & health.
We're laying low too, this morning. Having a quiet, pensive morning - letting everyone sleep.
Your truth about the "light bulbs" forced upon you by the federal government is indeed correct; it should be spoken loud and clear.
(On another matter, I left you some B.M. gift ideas on my blog).
Duta, darling~ I'm speaking as loudly & clearly as I can...
And another big thanks for the gift list. Great ideas!! ;)
Have you removed the seat belts from your cars?
Jim!! Welcome back~
Two words: Got Mercury?
Oh, the farse is so rich...
Excellent Susannah. Government has an awful track record for involvement in anything--you are right to question...
Welcome, SD! Glad you stopped by, and thanks for the follow. I believe Duta is absolutely right. We MUST speak OUT against this & other intrusions into our lives...
Please come back soon!
I am trying to stock up on the old Edison bulbs
According to Yahoo News:
But, just how dangerous is a broken bulb? Researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory set out to answer that question. They compared how much exposure you'd get from breathing in the amount of mercury released from a broken CFL bulb to how much mercury you'd take in from eating Albacore tuna.
If you do a common sense job of cleaning up (open the windows, clean up, and remove the debris), then your mercury exposure would be the equivalent of taking a tiny nibble of tuna, according to Francis Rubinstein, a staff scientist at Berkeley Lab. What if you did the worst job possible, say closed all the doors and smashed the bulb with a hammer? It's still no big deal, says Rubinstein, who points out that it would be the equivalent of eating one can of tuna. [Yahoo! News, 5/7/09]
Am collecting regular light bulbs by the tens every time I go to the store; they got voted out, stupid Congress.
Nice post, S! xx
Very informative, thanks for sharing.
Fuzz!! Glad you're back! Stocking up -- me too.
Jim, dear...mercury is actually a side note, but I think you know that. Point is - I don't want the Govt. forcing me to buy their lightbulbs & removing my alternatives. I couldn't care less what's in the tuna...Just don't force me to eat it.
Z!! Darling! (Been thinking of you a lot lately. How's tricks?) I'm stocking up, like you & Fuzz, too. And, yeah...stupid Congress...who do they think they are?? (geeez!, right?)
Toyin~ Thanks for coming by, & welcome. Do come back soon!
"I don't want the Govt. forcing me"
To use a low-flow water closet? To have grounded wall sockets and appliances?
Shouldn't the government make policy to ensure plentiful and clean water? Shouldn't the government make policy to reduce stress on the grid and provide uninterrupted electrical power to citizens? Shouldn't the government make policy to create cleaner-running, more efficient cars in order to have cleaner air and less dependence on scarce resources?
Have you been to Los Angeles lately? Have you compared the air quality today to pre-catalytic converter LA of a few decades ago? People didn't like the extra expense of a converter and leaded gasoline back then, but they sure like the air quality now.
Get over the light bulb thing, people. Don't you have more important things to fuss about?
Hi Susannah.
Point is - I don't want the Govt. forcing me to buy their lightbulbs & removing my alternatives.
Yeah, I want my lead based paint back. Fact is, incandescent bulbs have not been outlawed but are now subject to efficiency standards. They're now about 40% more efficient. You're being forced to save money on your electric bill. Those bastards.
Not only that, the lighting industry supports the new efficiency standards and it has created new jobs in America.
Kyle Pitsor of the National Electric Manufacturers Association says, "NEMA does not support its repeal. It's a common misunderstanding, but these standards do not ban incandescent bulbs, nor do they mandate the use of compact fluorescent bulbs.... Consumers will still be able to purchase a general service incandescent bulb, which will also be more efficient than the classic incandescent that produces roughly 95% heat and 5% light."
Really, isn't this a phony issue?
More on the "bulb wars."
Jim...blah, blah, blah...Intrusion into the lives of private citizens is the issue. And, angel, you know I live on the East coast - no quick jet fuel guzzling trips to LA for me.
Craig!! Welcome back! You'd gone scarce (Jim's word) for too long!
"Really, isn't this a phony issue?" Well no, it isn't.
Did you know that you can boil a frog in a pot of cold water, & it'll never even try to save itself? All you do is heat up the water one degree @ a time. As long as you're patient & encroach slowly, you can have frog legs for dinner, & the frog'll never know the difference.
lightbulbs = 1 degree fahrenheit.
We're well on our way to being frog legs...
Craig!! Welcome back! You'd gone scarce (Jim's word) for too long!
Thanks Susannah. Since our friend Z has banned anything contrary to her "conservative" narrative, I've started wandering around. I've got a problem, commenting on Righty blogs is like Crack to me so I stopped by for a fix.
Well no, it isn't.
You'll still be able to get your incandescent bulbs so, what's the problem?
Did you know that you can boil a frog in a pot of cold water, & it'll never even try to save itself?
Just like you being forced to buy compact florescent lights is a myth, the boiling frog analogy is a myth.
Professor Doug Melton, Harvard University Biology Department, says, "If you put a frog in boiling water, it won't jump out. It will die. If you put it in cold water, it will jump before it gets hot -- they don't sit still for you."
"Intrusion into the lives of private citizens is the issue."
There is no intrusion into your private life in this. As Craig says, you can still get incandescent bulbs, but you'll foolishly be wasting a lot of money.
But more than your private life is at issue here. Energy is NOT always plentiful and seldom cheap. Electrical grids are being over-taxed. You want brown outs? Keep your bulbs.
Craig ~ Metaphor, sir...metaphor! You don't think I did my research on the frog gig? (frog GIG -- ha! get it? Didn't think so...) Anyway, who cares if it's a myth --One must be aware of nuances of meaning. Frankly, though, I'm surprised it's you who quoted the professor to me. 'thought it'd be Jim. ;)
Jim~ You disappoint. Craig beat you to the punch! Power grid, power schmid. Kinda like those "green jobs" that are supposed to materialize via BHO's wand of 'power'. Yeah, right. Green jobs = government control over the "huddled masses."
(Watch: Next, we'll get a lecture from Jim - or Craig - about conspiracy theories...Anybody wanna put $ on Craig?)
Craig ~ Metaphor, sir...metaphor!
I'm stickin' with analogy. Bring it to your writer's workshop, I'll put $1.00 on analogy.
The point is, we're not being slowly boiled (analogy) and it's not another brick in the wall (metaphor). It's just legislation that requires the industry to make better light bulbs. Like laws prohibiting factories from dumping toxins into the water supply. It was passed with overwhelming bipartisan support and signed by Pres. Bush.
Power grid, power schmid. Kinda like those "green jobs" that are supposed to materialize via BHO's wand of 'power'. Yeah, right. Green jobs = government control over the "huddled masses."
From the Lefty rag, WSJ
It’s no secret the U.S. is struggling with high unemployment and dismal job growth. But at least one industry seems to be bucking the trend. “Sizing the Clean Economy: A National and Regional Green Jobs Assessment,” is an unbiased report published by Brookings. It demonstrates that, despite what some might think, solutions to environmental problems are not a drag on federal and state budgets, and can instead create revenue and new jobs.
It's worth a read.
about conspiracy theories
Nah, just misinformation.
Anybody wanna put $ on Craig?
You win!
Craig! I knew it!!
Yes, metaphor, smarty pants: "The boiling frog story is a widespread anecdote...The story is often used as a METAPHOR for the inability of people to react to significant changes that occur gradually."
My writers group would be proud. But hey, analogy works too.
"...and can instead create revenue and new jobs."
Yep. Government controlled, regulated, monitored, overseen, micromanaged - jobs.
You just lost your $.
Susannah, I concede. You cornered me like a rat and beat me like a drum. I owe you a dollar.
Yep. Government controlled, regulated, monitored, overseen, micromanaged - jobs.
I don't know what you mean. These are good paying, private sector jobs. Renewable energy has gotten a tiny fraction of govt. subsidy compared to oil, coal and nuclear. It's cleaner, cheaper, getting more efficient, privately funded and it won't run out. All without much help from govt. It's win, win, win.
From 2000 to 2008, over 50 thousand factories that employed at least 100 people each, closed. This is one area of manufacturing that is growing and you find something wrong with it. I don't get it.
(maybe my link works this time...)
Craig~'Federal subsidy' has nothing to do w/ this. I'm talking about massive industry being put under b/c it cannot fiscally withstand the Obama's new 'green' policies - industries being intentionally sunk to make way for the "harnessing" of green potential. Americans, in the process, are being FORCED into Obama's green fantasy, b/c our choices are being snuffed out.
Instead of American green-ingenuity proving itself in the free market (proving energy savings, etc.), thereby edging out traditional energy markets, the GOVERNMENT is contriving - through cost prohibitive, punitive regulation -the shut down of all BUT 'green' energy tech. They call this 'harnessing.'
I, along w/ Mona Charen, ask Do Americans want to be 'harnessed' or set free?
I think we all know the answer.
Okay, here's the Mona Charen link:
http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/269491/green-jobs-fantasy-mona-charen
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