tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82374779185599932802024-03-12T18:55:16.962-07:00Rocket ScientistEdward Hujsakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03506710993983560992noreply@blogger.comBlogger252125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237477918559993280.post-44284532979514532642019-02-23T21:51:00.003-08:002019-02-23T21:51:44.424-08:00<b>IN MEMORIUM</b><br />
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<b>Edward J. Hujsak passed away quietly February 25, 2018 leaving behind a 65 year legacy of breakthrough rocket engineering and space technology development. He is survived by his son Jonathan and daughter in law Colleen.</b>Edward Hujsakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03506710993983560992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237477918559993280.post-88637724590493403452018-02-05T15:07:00.001-08:002018-02-05T15:07:40.308-08:00PRESIDENT Adam Schiff<span style="font-size: large;">There must be many</span><span style="font-size: large;"> people thinking about who will be the next president.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">My choice would be Adam Schiff, a man of impeccable qualifications, smart, experienced, thoughtful, well educated, the right age, thoroughly likable. He would trounce "little" Donald in the 2020 election.</span>Edward Hujsakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03506710993983560992noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237477918559993280.post-17398920845585460732018-02-05T10:46:00.001-08:002018-02-05T14:44:52.871-08:00MISSILE FAILURES<div class="page" title="Page 1">
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<span style="font-family: "times";"><span style="font-size: large;">Excerpt from book, “A Pig In The Rumble Seat,” by Edward Hujsak. Edited
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times";">A serious aspect of missile engineering, failure analysis, that can weigh heavily on the practicing engineer, is how well they understand the system and how
various parts function, and a good measure of thoughtfulness, intuition, patience,
and just plain horse sense. There is little training for this, and often there is no op-
portunity for forensic analysis, as the pieces lie at the bottom of the ocean. If you
</span><span style="font-family: "times";">are lucky, telemetry sent back from the flight will carry useful evidence. Even then,
</span><span style="font-family: "times";">it may be a matter of interpretation.<br />
I was Assistant Chief Engineer for mechanical design for a time on the Atlas
Weapon’s System Program. It was a very bad time for the program, as the missile
experienced numerous failures at the instance of booster engine staging. The pres</span><span style="font-family: "times";">sure to get it fixed was considerable, even to the extent that the Aerospace Division,
Ramo.Wooldrige and AF Space Division began laying plans for a replacement
</span><span style="font-family: "times";">vehicle, Titan II.<br />
Our chief engineer, Gene Armstrong, was frantic. He had convinced the AF Major
</span><span style="font-family: "times";">who was stationed at General Dynamics that the situation called for drastic mea</span><span style="font-family: "times";">sures. Together they cooked up a plan to “harden” the missile propulsion system<br />
by replacing all aluminum propellant lines with stainless steel ones. They calledit “The Shotgun Program” and placed me in charge of a crew assembled to do the
design and manufacturing work. In due time, and at considerable expense, an “F’
</span><span style="font-family: "times";">missile was refitted and readied for launch. To Armstrong’s intense disappoint</span><span style="font-family: "times";">-
ment, a failure at staging not unlike the previous ones occurred again.The Shotgun
Program was an embarrassing shot in the dark, riding on prayers that one of the
changes would hit the mark.<br />
</span><span style="font-family: "times";">A flight failure immediately gets front burner attention. While awaiting some sense
</span><span style="font-family: "times";">of order to develop for the next line of action, I decided to have an independent go
</span><span style="font-family: "times";">at analysis, on the idea that there may be something in the flight telemetry traces
that had eluded our flight dynamics engineers. One night, with assistance from an
</span><span style="font-family: "times";">engineer in Telemetry, I gathered up the vibration telemetry traces and pored over
them, placing them side by side for comparison. There should be nothing of interest
</span><span style="font-family: "times";">in the successful flights. Hello. Comparing successful flights recordings with failed
ones showed an anomaly in the form of a short. sharp “buzz,” in the failed flights
</span><span style="font-family: "times";">at the instance of booster cutoff and thrust section separation. Gradually, the picture
began to unfold. Early the next morning I spoke with Gene Armstrong, who fortu-
nately was a good listener. The conversation ran something like this, as I laid out
the traces, side by side, before him.<br />
“These are explosions” I said.
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<span style="font-size: large;">“Explosiosns? How so? Bosster engine shuts down, then the thrust section separates and slides down the rails. What’s to explode? Besides, witout containment,
damage from an altitude explosion is pretty unlikely.”<br />
“There is containment,” I said, then proceeded to explain further. “Multiple events
occur in the first millisecond or so during separation, mainly the separation of electrical and fluid connections to the upper stage. I believe that we lucked out with the
“D” series. Changes were made in subsequent models that causes a near predictable failure..”
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<span style="font-size: large;">“Go on,”<br />
“Flow in the propellant feed lines to the pumps is cut off at booster separation by
valves that close automaticaly. But a situation exists where a large amount of propellant remains in the pumps and engine feed lines. This propellant is still at sea
level vapor pressure and spurts out in all directions at the instant of separation. The
vapors mix. There is plenty of time for ignition by generators and turbines in a
contained space. A key factor is that changes were made in locating the propellant line </span><span style="font-size: large;">and they doubled in number on the E and F models. Gene, I believe we
</span><span style="font-size: large;">can fix the problem.”</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
“Not another shotgun approach, I hope. I need a solution the change board will approve.”<br />
“Simple valves installed in the booster suction lines that close as the thrust section
drops away should do the job.”<br />
To sum it up, we got change board approval the following day. Jerry Nuding, a
fine engineer, was assigned to do the design. In a matter of a few weeks we had an F missile refitted with shutoff valves. The flight was successful, with no sign of a suspected explosion. The entire E and F ICBM fleet was then modified and no
further staging failures occurred. </span></div>
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Edward Hujsakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03506710993983560992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237477918559993280.post-74882948529771374352017-12-23T18:10:00.000-08:002017-12-23T18:12:52.527-08:00INFAMOUS QUOTE<span style="font-size: large;">Senator Orin (rhymes with moron), before a gathering of giddy congressional members at the White House" "Mr. President, history will recognize you as the greatest ( insert adjective) president, ever!"</span>Edward Hujsakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03506710993983560992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237477918559993280.post-87956968457950302172017-11-11T13:08:00.000-08:002017-12-30T12:01:24.104-08:00VOTER FRAUD<span style="font-size: large;"> The Voter Fraud Commission would do well to forget about chasing rumors of fraud aimed to confirm the President’s suspicions. It should instead pay attention to a single case of flagrant voter fraud that is presumed to be okay, though constitutionally extremely doubtful.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> All but two states arrogate to themselves a "Winner take All"</span> policy in determining the electoral college vote. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> In other words, regardless of how you voted, they tell you how you voted. If this is not voter fraud on an immense scale. what is it?</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> If you voted for the losing candidate, the state commits egregious fraud in telling you how you voted. That's how Trump got elected, in spite of losing the popular vote. I challenge anyone to dispute it and I doubt that the Constitution permits it.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> Want to bet that the "voter Fraud Commission" will discover this obscenity, this perversion of the Constitution? How different is this than what goes on in Russia?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span>Edward Hujsakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03506710993983560992noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237477918559993280.post-33016476456212111552017-10-19T13:27:00.000-07:002017-10-21T17:41:30.564-07:00CORPORATE PERFIDY REVISITED<span style="font-size: large;">The recent onset of an opioid crisis in the country, the direct result of complicity between legislators and big pharma. allowing big pharma to flood the country with pills, and also a money hungry media, arguably the nation's biggest drug pushers, who will advertise anything to bring in money, prompts me to post again the blog, CORPORATE PERFIDY, covering </span><span style="font-size: large;">my own bitter experience, which I first published is September, 2012. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">It is worth noting that complaints to the FDA evoked a reply that my problem was experienced by 1% of people treated, and that is considered to be acceptable, despite the occurrence of permanent damage.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">CORPORATE PERFIDY</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"> Warfarin was developed in 1948 as a pesticide. It functioned as a blood thinner. Pests like rats that consumed food to which warfarin was added died from internal bleeding. In the course of time, it became an object of interest as a means of preventing thrombosis in many physical disorders such as development of clotting following a joint replacement. Conclusions about its efficacy were firmed up in the early 1950’s and approved for treatment of humans in 1954. It has been used successfully ever since.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> Drawbacks are danger of bleeding and interaction with certain foods like leafy vegetables and some medications. The protime, INR, has to be monitored and kept within limits. Visits to clinics to have INR checked are a nuisance and could be every few days until stability is reached. Time between checks may be extended as the patient reaches a plateau in living pattern and food ingestion. Over time, safe usage of warfarin, or coumadin by another name, has lost any mystery and has become routine. Other than the possibility of bleeding, there are no known side effects that result in physical impairment. An advantage, insofar as the patient is concerned, is the low cost. Of course, pharmaceutical firms cannot be expected to support this medication and will naturally spend research money to come up with money makers that do the same job as warfarin.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> Hence the appearance of anticoagulants like Plavix, which, by astute marketing, its developers have captured a fair share of the market. Besides the risk of bleeding, which is not significantly different from controlled warfarin dosage, these compounds have other side effects, some of which are physically debilitating. One such effect, claimed to be rare, which I happen to be familiar with, is an onset of sudden numbness down the left side of the body after just a few days of taking the medication. Bristol-Myers, which makes Plavix, doesn’t make much of it, though they do list it as a side effect, (recently delisted!) and cautions that one should immediately report to their doctor in the event that it occurs. Paradoxically, doctors seem to know nothing about it. My own experience draws from consulting a dozen local neurologists and cardiologists about the affliction, and none were helpful. At the very least one or two could have lifted the phone and called Bristol-Myers and said: “Hey, I’ve got a guy here whose left side has gone numb from taking Plavix. Can you tell me something about it?” My own attempts to contact the company went unanswered except for a request for a sample from the prescription bottle which by then had been used up.Meantime, for anyone who suffers from this side effect, it isn’t going to go away so long it is reinforced every day. And it may never go away if permanent damage has been sustained. Patient complaints on the internet indicate that the problem is more common than is publicized.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> Meantime, the pharmaceutical firms, happily selling expensive Plavix pills, and aware that warfarin is still widely used, look for other ways to ease that medication out of the market with products like Plavix but with different names.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> One can imagine a scene, high up on the top floor of the Pistol-Fires Pharmaceutical headquarters building in the mahogany lined conference room. (Of course, the names and titles are imaginary too.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> On this particular morning Zachary Taylor Bremerton III, vice-president of marketing, has an idea while shaving before traveling to work in the chauffeured company car. Perks are good for administrators of his status. Upon arriving at work, he calls a meeting of his marketing underlings and product experts for a brain storming session.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> “It’s like this,” he says, addressing the gathering of bright young women and men and a scattering of middle-agers: “We’re doing pretty well with Slavix, but haven’t yet scratched the potential.... not so long as warfarin is the preferred medication. And you know full well, cheap as it is, we can’t make a nickel on it. So...........,” he looks about the room, “any ideas?” For a while it is quiet. Then, hesitantly, one idea after another idea is floated. It is Bremerton’s habit to dispose of ideas he doesn’t like with a wrinkle of his nose.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> Finally, up and coming, street smart, Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa, MBA graduate of Wharton School of Business Joe Paskudnik speaks up. “Well,” he says, “there’s Cataxiban.” </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> “What about Cataxiban?” </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> “It’s been there sitting on the shelf for a year. We spent a lot of money developing it with Scyther. Trouble is, it’s too much like Slavix. But that might be a minor disadvantage. Advantage is that not many know about it, though all the approvals are in order. We take over the whole warfarin market. No small steps. A major push. What we need to do is give warfarin a bad rap, then move in.”</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> “Great idea.” Bremerton sounds skeptical, but this one sounds far out enough to give it a little attention.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> "Go on."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> “Warfarin’s got disadvantages. INR has to be checked every so often. Patients don’t like having to run into the clinic every few days.... a pain in the butt for clinics. Also the bleeding problem, we can make a lot out of that......high risk."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> No one suggests that self-testing for INR could soon become routine.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> “Any similar risk with Cataxiban?”</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> “Well..... yes. They are very close. Warfarin is a shade worse.”</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> Poor Joe’s closest encounter with truth. Really too close to call. He plunges on. "We mount up a major campaign. Make warfarin look bad and at the same time tout the advantages of Cataxiban. Less risk of stroke. Papers, television, the internet.....anywhere people will stop, look and listen. Prescribe two pills a day at.. say nine dollars a pill. That’s a lot better... for us... than thirty cents a day for warfarin.“</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> Bremerton looks about the room. He sees approving smiles, heads nodding, shining eyes. His fingers mesh and unmesh. “Paskudnik, You’re going to go far,” he said. “That’s all folks.” The group files out.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> Bremerton speaks to his secretary via the intercom. “Maria, get me Vice-President Jim Disher at Scyther headquarters.” He gets up and starts to pace the room. “This is gonna be big,” he mutters.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> Admittedly, the above didn’t happen exactly as portrayed. But something like it did. A short time ago an article appeared in the New York Times reporting that Bristol-Myers and Phizer had obtained FDA approval for a new drug, Apixaban, also under the generic name Eliquis, that is proclaimed to be safer than warfarin from the standpoint of bleeding risk. Comparison reports (New England Journal of Medicine, Aug 29) don’t confirm that there is much difference, if any. But in recent weeks we have seen a blow-out advertising campaign..... full-page ads in newspapers,.....long television commercials, countless internet ads trumpeting superiority over warfarin and warnings about potential strokes with that medication. Enough to scare the innocent witless. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> Quite the same as the appearance of Tono Bungay in H.G. Wells’ novel of the same title,</span><span style="font-size: large;">wherein, as George Ponderevo, he helped his uncle Sidney Ewart launch an elixir called Tono Bungay, on which he built an enormous fortune.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> Amusing, if it were not so serious, is the litany of side effects, which are similar to Plavix. Some are not noted.....MAY CAUSE SUDDEN NUMBNESS DOWN THE LEFT SIDE OF BODY. But the warning does appear elsewhere.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> Gullible as anyone, I signed up for the pill. Nine dollars each.. Two pills daily. If anything, the medication has exacerbated the numbness problem.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> Articles of complaint aren’t too interesting if a concluding comment is not offered that recommends improvement in a situation.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> My observation is that one step further must be taken. FDA approval should not be the gate opener for launching a new medication on the public. There is too much at stake.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> My recommendation is that the AMA should establish a review board comprised of professionals over the age of sixty who have been around the block. They would study every FDA approval and deliver a message to the medical community and the public regarding its merits against their experience and whether a replacement should even be considered in light of that experience. Board members would be salaried and would be selected out of a slate that has no prior connection with pharmaceutical companies on any level other than normal exposure to sales for learning purposes.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Posted by Edward Hujsak at 4:59 PM No comments: </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Email This</span><br />
<br />Edward Hujsakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03506710993983560992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237477918559993280.post-10743366613901010452017-10-07T11:40:00.000-07:002017-10-07T13:08:14.835-07:00GO BOLDLY<span style="font-size: large;">As a sometime author, I find it awful that the company that operates under the name, "Go Boldly," would boldly follow the amoral path of using (plagiarizing?) lines of a famous , internationally revered poet in order to bolster marketing whatever it is that they do. Literates in this company (there must be some) are taking the low road.</span>Edward Hujsakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03506710993983560992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237477918559993280.post-22809740210109323772017-09-17T14:41:00.000-07:002017-09-17T14:41:15.964-07:00THREE MILLION YEAR OLD SKULL<span style="font-size: large;">Sometimes I imagine these worn teeth, </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> chattering high up in the jungle vines</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">where you sought shelter, where down</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">below a saber tooth tiger paces.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">When you turn your head just right</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">the moonlight reveals the panic</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">in your eyes. You don't even know</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">if you will survive tomorrow.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">How could you know that with</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">the first wooden club you used to</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">open nuts and shells by the sea shore,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">you had discovered the principle </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">of applied force, that would allow</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">you to do anything, even vanquish </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">your mortal enemies, like the tiger</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">that waits below?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">How could you know the principle</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">of applied force would lead to tensioned </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">bows, spears, axes and knives, gunpowder,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">cannons, atomic bombs, travel to the moon </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">that mysteriously waxes and wanes and</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">illuminates your nights?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">How could you know the principle </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">of applied force would let you dominate,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">propagate in large numbers, scatter across</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Earth and plunder her? Did you think</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">that of all the wildlife around you, </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">you would be the anointed one?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">How could you know that one day</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I would be seated here, holding you</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">in my hands, blessed with thought,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">intuition and emotion, trying to figure</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">just how it was that we got here? </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />Edward Hujsakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03506710993983560992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237477918559993280.post-44617681047958075362017-08-13T09:49:00.000-07:002017-08-13T09:49:00.421-07:00CREDO <span style="font-size: large;">Everyone possesses a finer self and a less-than-finer self. The eternal struggle is which is allowed to, or made to, triumph over the other.</span>Edward Hujsakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03506710993983560992noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237477918559993280.post-38595472267447487842017-08-08T15:20:00.000-07:002017-08-08T15:20:10.817-07:00GOOD BYE, CHARLIE
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<span style="font-size: large;"> I’m finding it odd that the title of this story is the same as the title of the first story in my
short story book (though in that case it was science fiction).
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<span style="font-size: large;"> Charlie Bierman and I became acquainted in the early days when we both worked for General
Dynamics on the design and development of the Atlas ICBM propulsion system. Eventually our
careers took separate directions, so over the years we seldom crossed paths. We retired to private
life at approximately the same time.
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<span style="font-size: large;"> Among other things I wanted to do was to design and build fine furniture. I decided to
join the San Diego Fine Woodworkers Association and attended one of their monthly meetings.
Lo and behold, there was Charlie, presiding at a table laden with hand crafted toys. Charlie de</span><span style="font-size: large;">scribed the Association’s toy program in which members make toys which are then distributed </span><span style="font-size: large;">to under -privileged kids around San Diego County, incl</span><span style="font-size: large;">uding children at Camp Pendleton whose
parents were in the Far East on active duty. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> Toy making! What could be better? I decided then
and there that I would join the effort, figuring that furniture making would leave lots of scrap lum</span><span style="font-size: large;">ber that could be put to good use.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Toy making became Charlie’s whole life. He met with toy making colleagues weekly in
an El Cajon shop where he and his friends designed and crafted an assortment of toys, all of
which were distributed by the Association. On occasion they came up with a design where their
spouses could add touches such a painted decorations and sewed object like blankets for cribs.
Charlie told me once that over the years, more than ten thousand toys had been distributed,
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<span style="font-size: large;"> Charlie carried his talents further, teaching toymaking to students at Palomar College, and
participating in President Carter’s Habitats for Humanity” The construction program was geared
to construct a home in a single day to help people in poorer regions.
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<span style="font-size: large;"> I met Helen, Charlie's charming wife, when I delivered toys to his home. More often than not, she would be seated at a table, reading, a few feet away from where Charlie was working in the garage/workshop.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"> As the years progressed, work never stopped, though it existed, perhaps at a more relaxed
pace. In my case serious illness stopped it altogether, but it was great therapy during recovery. I </span><span style="font-size: large;">grew too old to drive and relied on Charlie to come to my home to pick up toys. Still later, when
Charlie stopped driving, good friend Eric Robinson provided transportation to pick up added toys
from my home workshop. </span><span style="font-size: large;">Those occasions were always a great time for reminiscences, recalling
our rocket days, and chatting about current issues, like comparing our remarkable pacemakers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"> One day recently, I called Charlie’s number, as I had another batch of toys ready for
pickup. Charlie wasn’t there but a message said that he would call back. Later in the day Eric
e-mailed me that Charlie had suffered a fatal fall the previous evening. Charlie was ninety-four.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"> After some moments of reflection and sadness, all I could say to my good friend, wherever
he is, was “Good Bye, Charlie.” </span><br />
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Edward Hujsakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03506710993983560992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237477918559993280.post-6126168629273664582017-08-06T12:03:00.001-07:002017-08-06T12:03:50.014-07:00PROPAGANDA MACHINE?The word is that in line with his battles with the press, Donald Trump will have his own news broadcasts. Maybe Steve Miller will head it.<br />
It brings to mind sometime in the past , when Adolph Hitler put Joseph Goebbels in business on a similar mission.<br />
<br />Edward Hujsakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03506710993983560992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237477918559993280.post-64663347703001212392017-07-23T14:22:00.000-07:002017-07-23T14:22:10.549-07:00LETTER TO FOUR SENATORS<span style="font-size: large;">To Senators:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Dianne Feinstein</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Kamala Harris</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Bernie Sanders</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Elizabeth Warren</span><br />
<div style="min-height: 18px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Dear Senators:</span><br />
<div style="min-height: 18px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Whatever happened to Advise and Consent, a time-honored role of the United States Senate, if not a mandate, to rein in untoward use of executive power by a</span><span style="font-size: large;">n unpredictable President?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It is clear that President Trump’s frequent issuance of executive orders reflects an inner desire to perform like a dictator, for whom he has expressed admiration and support. It should not be left to some obscure Attorney General in Hawaii or Washington State to examine and determine the constitutionality of a Decree at some indefinite time in the future, perhaps after considerable damage has been done,</span><br />
<div style="min-height: 18px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Rather, upon the issuance of an executive order, the Senate should immediately tell the President whether or not this is a good idea. Failing this, you leave the country to be run by Rasputin-like Steve Bannon, who has the president’s ear and has stated that his goal is to deprogram the administration. You can hear the Grover Norquist crowd cheering in the background..</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 18px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Sincerely,</span><br />
<div style="min-height: 18px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 18px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Edward Hujsak</span><br />
<br />
<div style="font-size: 14px; min-height: 18px;">
<br /></div>
Edward Hujsakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03506710993983560992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237477918559993280.post-88917931323777521752017-07-12T15:22:00.000-07:002017-07-12T15:22:13.956-07:00GREAT DAY COMING?<span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">Donald Trump, introduced, to religion by two Corinthians, who had nothing else to do at the time, is now holding prayer meetings with evangelicals in the oval office, with the laying on of hands for good measure.What may be more encouraging and exciting, we may all eventually be saved by executive order!</span></span><br />
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<br /></div>
Edward Hujsakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03506710993983560992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237477918559993280.post-66605992516736262672017-06-14T11:57:00.000-07:002017-06-14T11:57:35.438-07:00CABLE NEWS<span style="font-size: large;">A great day for cable news.</span><div>
<span style="font-size: large;">A shooting event at a baseball field in Washington provides non-stop, repetitive fodder, exhaustive coverage for at least two days.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Meantime, it is fortunate that nothing else worth noting is taking place on Planet Earth. </span></div>
Edward Hujsakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03506710993983560992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237477918559993280.post-20526117872154862292017-06-11T12:42:00.000-07:002017-06-11T12:43:54.469-07:00THE HUNTERS<span style="font-size: large;">Such a probing,</span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">a hunger, to discover</span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">whether skeletons rest</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">in crevices on Mars,</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">or diamonds crust upon</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">the shores of planets</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">far too distant to perceive.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Then there's the race</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">to find the smallest bit</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">"The God Particle,"</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">they call it, </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">or more prosaically,</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">"Higg's Boson,"</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">supposed to tie</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">all things together.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">What a kick for humanity</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">if it turns out to be </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">the same as love.</span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">-e. hujsak</span></div>
Edward Hujsakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03506710993983560992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237477918559993280.post-7019756898815465222017-06-10T17:43:00.000-07:002017-06-13T15:01:30.537-07:00CORN -ON - THE - COB<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="font-family: Georgia; line-height: 17.079999923706055px;">
<span style="font-size: large; line-height: 1.22em;">Summer is approaching. Memories of the farm - the old swimming hole, boiled new potatoes, corn-on-the-cob.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia; line-height: 17.079999923706055px;">
<span style="font-size: large; line-height: 1.22em;"><br style="line-height: 1.22em;" /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia; line-height: 17.079999923706055px;">
<span style="font-size: large; line-height: 1.22em;">It reminds me that my brother Alex was something of an expert on corn-on-the-cob, having figured out how to get freshly picked corn into boiling water in the shortest possible time to avoid starch onset. He advised planting corn as close to the kitchen as possible. When the corn is ripe you set the water to boiling in a pot on the stove. Then you pick the corn and run, don't walk, back to the kitchen, shucking the leafy covers on the go, the object being to get the corn cooking immediately.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large; line-height: 1.22em;">Boiled new potatoes got me thinking. History records that Sir Francis Drake and Sir Walter Raleigh introduced potatoes to Ireland and England in the sixteenth century. after Conquistadors discovered them in Peru. I doubt though, that I will be remembered for having introduced corn-on-the-cob to Poland, but for the record, I can relate how it happened.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 1.22em;">One summer day, around twenty five years ago, nephew -in-law Slav appeared at our doorstep accompanied by his sister Ula and her daughter, who were visiting from Poland. After visiting for a spell,</span><span style="line-height: 1.22em;"> we invited them to lunch with us. The table was set with a variety of garden goods, including a plate at each setting with a freshly boiled ear of sweet corn on it. I remember a </span><span style="line-height: 1.22em;">slight frown on Ula's face and a wrinkling of her nose. She said to Slav, in a soft, melodious voice, "In Poland , we feed this to pigs!"</span></span></div>
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<div style="font-family: Georgia; line-height: 17.079999923706055px;">
<span style="font-size: large; line-height: 1.22em;">Slav replied with a smile, "You smear butter on it, then salt it. It's very good."</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large; line-height: 1.22em;"><br style="line-height: 1.22em;" /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia; line-height: 17.079999923706055px;">
<span style="font-size: large; line-height: 1.22em;">They did find it good and remembered it upon returning to Poland. There they introduced it to friends, who introduced it to friends and, well, you know.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium; line-height: 1.22em;"><br /></span></div>
Edward Hujsakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03506710993983560992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237477918559993280.post-73352385342164797262017-05-03T09:04:00.001-07:002017-05-03T12:54:41.781-07:00COAL ANYONE?<span style="font-size: large;">Ab opinion piece by Michael Bloomberg in the May 2 Washington post is titled:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">TRUMP'S PROMISE TO BRING BACK COAL IS WORSE THAN A CON'</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Knowledgable energy people will fully agree. Coal cannot compete with natural gas, which is available in prodigious amounts, worldwide. Some, possibly much of it, is theorized to be not of fossil origin, but came from a component of the atmosphere in early days of Earth's formation. It got trapped in underground fissures as did carbon dioxide and other gases, and methane also got dissolved in hot brine deposits in huge amounts. Coal plants are rapidly being retired from service and are being replaced by natural gas and renewable sources. In the latter, there are a lot more jobs than coal mining. Ten times more.</span></div>
Edward Hujsakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03506710993983560992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237477918559993280.post-31745629261920539122017-04-30T12:36:00.000-07:002017-04-30T12:36:38.307-07:00SPACE TRAVELERS ALL<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Long before any human sets foot on Mars, you will be able to explore Mars and the moon virtually, in your living room, or perhaps, at lesser expense, in a Starbuck's type venue, as there are opportunities for big bucks to be made. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">You will don a helmet with a view screen and delve into, and navigate google maps, just as though you were there. You will be alone, though the worlds will be swarming with other explorers. Eventually other planets, Saturn's moons, will be open for exploration. Would-be astronauts won't leave a mark behind, nor any other residue from the visit.</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">This is one of the next big technological developments, and will probably quell all desire and expense of space travel and promote better care of unique Earth, maybe the only place humans can call home.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial;"></span></span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
Edward Hujsakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03506710993983560992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237477918559993280.post-69037484291240087642017-04-28T15:15:00.000-07:002017-04-28T15:15:08.415-07:00NEW AGE<span style="font-size: large;">I wonder, what with forty-one dictatorships around the world, and a wannabe in the White House, whether one day historians will look upon this time as THE ERA OF THE ASCENDANCY OF THE PASKUDNYAKS.</span>Edward Hujsakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03506710993983560992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237477918559993280.post-36341440333192962792017-04-16T13:45:00.000-07:002017-04-16T13:45:05.720-07:00SECOND COMING<span style="font-size: large;">Author’s note: Trill is a fictional female acquaintance who makes it possible towrite in a style that is comfortable for me’</span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">My Dear Trill,</span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">This day, the celebration of a specfic resurrection that is written to have occurred in biblical times - a return to life after death - often takes on a broader meaning. “Coming back to life” can be a renewal in any number of ways. We live in a time when ten disparate nations are in possession of over sixteen thousand nuclear bombs. Some of the governments are headed by lunatics. Somehow, if civilization is to survive, things must change.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I cannot blame you for being apprehensive about the future, much less be sanguine. Historically there have been other times of stressed relations, misunderstandings, rise of empire building despots, and consequent wars. I am reminded today of the famous work, written in 1919 (following WWI) by William Butler Yeats</span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">THE SECOND COMING </span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">BY WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS</span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Turning and turning in the widening gyre </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The falcon cannot hear the falconer; </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The ceremony of innocence is drowned; </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The best lack all conviction, while the worst </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Are full of passionate intensity. </span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Surely some revelation is at hand; </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Surely the Second Coming is at hand. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">A shape with lion body and the head of a man, </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun, </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The darkness drops again; but now I know </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">That twenty centuries of stony sleep </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle, </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born? </span><br />
<br />
<div style="font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;">
<br /></div>
Edward Hujsakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03506710993983560992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237477918559993280.post-12753669779942831132017-03-28T12:22:00.000-07:002017-03-28T12:22:13.588-07:00 RANDOM THOUGHTS<span style="font-size: large;">Look for the Trump administration seeking a subsidy for coal burning power plants because they cannot compete with natural gas, which is available in prodigious amounts. Also, wind energy is cost competitive with coal to install and far cheaper to operate.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Trouble ahead in the White House with Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner put in charge of a number of efforts, including foreign affairs. Whoa! Does that mean that the Secretary of State reports to Jared, and not the president?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Trump's reversal of environmental control measures will create an uproar. Many jobs now depend on climate change abatement.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Common sense will eventually drive the legislature to provide medicare for all. One administrative system, modest charge, everyone covered. Rebates if don't use it and take care of health. A healthier nation. Everyone wins.</span>Edward Hujsakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03506710993983560992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237477918559993280.post-47054610846183942712017-03-24T09:24:00.001-07:002017-03-24T09:30:53.365-07:00DECEPTION AND DEAL MAKING<span style="font-size: large;">Author's note. Trill is a fictional female acquaintance who makes it possible to write in a style that is comfortable for me.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">My Dear Trill,</span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>You write that you are despondent, confused by a churning world that has escaped your understanding. You are not alone.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Commercial interests, a universal drive to encourage people to consume and acquire possessions, is the engine of what is called progress. Rather than being guided, it operates by pushing boundaries as far as they can be pushed without breaking. You see this in television, which has largely become a medium for huckstering, even making a game of it, for example, and its adoption of the disgraceful role as the nation's greatest drug pusher (“see your doctor”).</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Then there is the matter of utter falsehoods being foisted upon an entire population. Sad and troubling is the election of a professional huckster to lead the country; a man with the reputation as a “deal maker” with a background in casinos, steaks delivered to your door, wine, golf courses, real estate, a failed “university” ( a practiced liar, as if it isn’t commonly known that this is a necessaary attribute for deal making), and no governing experience at all: a man empty of empathy. We have elected a president who is skilled, howver, in pushing the boundaries, The worry now is that a mis-step could easily take the nation into war. It appears that he has already given up the role as leader of the free world to Angela Merkel, Prime Minister of Germany.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The marginal quality of our new President is common knowledge, and draws much critical commentary, a sample of which is illustrated by Richard Cohen’s recent opinion piece in the New York Times. Quote:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“If a budget can be a portrait of a soul, then this president’s is arid and shriveled. It is filled with contempt for the needy. Here is a man dismissive of the arts, the environment, the humanities, diplomacy, peacekeeping, science, public education and civilian national service — in short, civilization itself. If he could defund goodness he would. Charity is also ripe for the ax. Creativity needs skewering. Giving is weakness. All that counts are acquisitive instinct, walls and bans (of the kind that keep mother and son apart), displays of power, and the frisson of selective cruelty that lay behind his successful TV show. Everyone is now Donald Trump’s apprentice, at least as he sees it.”</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>How far this intrusion on Democracy, behaving more like a kleptocracy, will be allowed to go on is a matter of conjecture. My guess is that by mid-year the President will show signs of tiring of a job he doesn’t really understand, which is not meant to be styled to be run by deception and deal making, and the people will be really tired of him.</span><br />
<br />
<div style="font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;">
<br /></div>
Edward Hujsakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03506710993983560992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237477918559993280.post-43075173757774266202017-03-16T11:21:00.001-07:002017-03-16T11:21:39.387-07:00SPACE TRAVELERS<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> When you think about it, human space exploration is akin to dolphins leaping out of the water. Contrast this with fact that we are already space travelers, tooling around the sun once a year at 30km per second. We even grow our own food. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> Further, our spaceship moves along with the solar system in its </span><span style="font-family: arial;">orbit around the galaxy, at 230 km sec. which occurs once every 230 million years. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> Rockets can hardly match what exists in the cosmos.</span></span><br />
<div style="font-family: arial; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
Edward Hujsakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03506710993983560992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237477918559993280.post-44952052303691500362017-03-06T08:51:00.001-08:002017-03-09T09:09:38.443-08:00ANXIETYAuthors note: Trill is a fictional female acquaintance who makes it possible to write in a style that is comfortable for me.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">My Dear Trill,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: large;">Isn't it odd that America does not exist on maps? The Continents of North America and South America do, however. The founders had it wrong when they wrote "the United States of America' in the preamble to the constitution. Technically they should have written "the United States in the Continent of North America."</span><br />
<div style="font-family: arial;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> It follows then, Canadians, Mexicans, Guatemalans, Costa Ricans can claim to be Americans. Hawaiians, though part of the United States, unfortunately cannot </span><span style="font-size: large;">make that claim.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> For that matter, all citizens in countries in South America can claim to be Americans.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial;">
<span style="font-size: large;">"God Bless America." </span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> A nice song. Maybe a suitable anthem for the North and South American Continents. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"> The foregoing may be food for thought, Trill, but it is probably unimportant in the grand scheme of things; the immediate prospects for intelligent leadership by a lying, delusional, petulant and </span><span style="font-family: "arial";">vindictive president, and in the broad perspective, society facing a race that is already out of the starting gates between the Transcendent Man, Dystopians, Luddites, and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: arial;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: arial;">
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Edward Hujsakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03506710993983560992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237477918559993280.post-63978582567033278362017-02-23T11:40:00.000-08:002017-02-23T11:40:27.287-08:00REMINDER<span style="font-size: large;">Write to:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Senator Dianne Feinstein</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Now that President Trump has reversed Obama’s decision on the Keystone and Dakota pipelines, they will in all liklihood go ahead with construction. I think it is important to insert in the permits what will happen after the pipelines have outlived their use. Disposal of the pipelines is an important issue, as is restoration of the landscape to its original condition. The companies involved should be required to put up a bond to ensure that the work is done.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">And to Governor Brown</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Given that carbon emissions abatement is an important issue for California, and that in many ways California is leading the way for the nation, I urge you to consider requirIng that Diesel locomotives convert to biodiesel. In one significant move, an entire segment of the transportation industry can be converted to a near zero carbon footprint. California can do this as it already has a healthy biodiesel industry. Along these lines, I urge you to authorize hemp growing, a very good cash crop and source of oil as well as other products that grows well in semi-arable areas. Congress foolishly banned the growing of hemp because it belongs to the cannabis family. Hemp could be a source of biodiesel and is already useful for soaps, health oils, rope, fabrics, etc. Why should we have to import it?</span>Edward Hujsakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03506710993983560992noreply@blogger.com0