Question for Irishbobcat

[Towntalk]

Reply to Forum Manager

Only a complete fool would discount the effects of pollution. But in the quest for prestine air, we are being overwhelmed by junk science being presented as absolute fact.

A week doesn't go by that I don't come across articles that are so outrageous that it's not the least bit funny. Again, we have special interest groups that are jumping on the Global Warming bandwagon to advance their cause.

One week we read that Iceburgs are melting at an alarming rate, and the next that Icebergs are getting thicker.

Photos show Polar Bears "stranded on a block of ice" declaring that they will drown. Fact: Polar Bears are great swimmers, and being native to the Arctic, they have natural protection from the frigid weather.

Air pollution (smog) is a bad thing, we agree on that just as we can agree that pollution from China travels eastward towards the United States, but since air currents travel East-West or West-East how can pollution affect the North and South Poles?

By the same token, Ozone patterns fluctuate, sometimes more, sometimes less. We can see these fluctuations on a number of legitimate web sites such as NASA.

I'm sure that you are aware of the fact that there is at least one active volcano in the Antarctic. This leads me to ask, why is it so bloody cold there. If we accepted the fact that a volcano spews out pollution, then it would stand that we would see it's effects. From satallite photos there is a single area that has little or no snow, so where is all the rest of the ash that naturally follows a volcano erruption? Buried under snow and ice I suspect.

We can become overwhelmed by all the conflicting data, and certainly few of us can spend the time sorting it all out, so we fall prey to the minute news reports that without exception present worst case scenarios and accept them as absolute truth even though these reports fail to present opposing views.

[irishbobcat]

Towntalk:

Thank you for the kind words. I also visit many web-sites and receive various e-mails concerning issues facing us. Too many sometimes cause my wife yells at me...she finds it hard to believe that I get over 100 e-mails from information sites each day.

As far as illegal immigration, I have seen it's impact in Ohio upclose and personal. One of my first educational administration positions was in rural Northwest Ohio. Being an bicyclist, I saw many migrant worker farms where tomatoes were picked in the summer while riding throughNorthwest Ohio. The impact on education was that many school districts had to keep their doors open during the summer to teach migrant children....costing districts money in terms of additonal salaries, bus transportation, utility costs, etc. This money had to come out of the general budget and eventually meant more and higher school levy issues. The poor living conditions left many workers seeking medical treatment for illness as well as injuries resulting from unskilled workers handling heavy and complicated machines.

I guess there are various solutions, send illegals back when discovered, fine companies who hire illegals, or make companies pay for the additional costs to educate the children and pay for the health insurance for these workers.

I doubt the current state legistlature would do nothing to the companies since our current state reps take huge amounts of campaign donations from companies, lobbyists, and PACS. Our current State Representative took campaign donations from 19 lobbyists and over 90 PACS in 2007 alone. Would he serious look into placing fines on organizations that fill his political war chest?

The reason Southern Ohio has a toehoe on jobs is that I believe they are better at promoting their area and their state reps work hand in hand with their federal congressman to secure funding, grants, and promote job growth in that part of the state.
Since I started to get involved in this race I have read many articles where state reps and their congressman worked together to bring jobs to a district. In Toledo such cooperation came when federal grants were given to the University of Toledo to begin
research to help make their RTA system develop a bus fleet that will use less fuel and thus not cause new tax levies to be issued
to run their system. In Columbus, state and federal officials worked to bring funding to help  companies build a new power producing plant that will take the methane out of the bottom of the landfills to be used for power and energy in the Columbus area.

Plus we need to get the word out more that there are still great factory locations and a work force available here in the Mahoning Valley. I always think of that scene out of the movie "It's a Wonderful Life" when the character Sam Wainwright is telling George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart) that Sam's dad is going to build a new factory in Buffalo. Jimmy Stewart's character replies "Tell your dad the old factory that closed down two years ago would be a steal to buy and that half the town was put out of work when it closed. There is plenty of people looking for work here."  That is the message we need to send out about the Mahoning Vallley. We have the factory space and workers available to have new alternative energy locate here.

Currently I am sitting on the committee that is building the new school in Brookfield. We are debating whether to use regular heating sources or go Geo-Thermal. The state commission people told us that if we want to go Geo-Thermal, we would have to hire a company out of Monatana to do the work. We don't have a Geo-Termal company to such large jobs in Ohio? Why not? Then let's get one and locate them here in Youngstown.

There is a huge plate to work on if I became state Representative...but the current musical chair system that we currently use to fill these positions over the last 20 years have not worked. That is why I am running...so that the voters have an independent choice to make in November.

Sincerely,

Dennis Spisak
Independent Green Candidate for State Representative-60th District
campaign site: HTTP://votespisak.tripod.com

[ForumManager]

I do understand that historically ice ages were caused by catastrophic atmospheric events.  Do you agree that the polar ice caps are now disappearing and the oceans' waters are cooling enough to cause previous weather patterns to change?  Will the earth see an ice age before we are turned into a desert planet?   And if so, would that event significantly reduce populations of both people and wildlife? The pollution  would then decrease due to that lack of population. There could feasibly be a period of recovery similar to the era we are in right now following the last ice age.

[Towntalk]

To the Forum Manager:

While replying to your post, my reply went into cyberspace so I'll try again.

Global Warming as I understand it, would heat up the planet eventually turning Earth into another Mars.

In the other hand, Super volcanoes could have the effect of turning our planet into another Venus.

The Ice Ages that Earth has already experienced were not caused by man but by nature in the form of Super volcanoes that sent up huge clouds of material into the stratisphere.

Earth has also experienced at least three major astroid hits that had the effect of creating minor ice ages.

In those cases the impacts were as great as a thousand WWII Atomic Bombs and in the case of the hit in Siberia, we have historic accounts of the event from newspaper accounts in England.

[Towntalk]

I really appreciate your answers. You are one of the very few people running for public office that has given me a rational answer to my questions.

As you know, I pour through hundreds of articles each day in preparing my web site, and in the background, to keep from going stark raving mad, I watch such channels as the History Channel and the Discovery Channel, and find that they give me a balanced view of our future ... more so than what we get on the all news channels.

I don't for a moment discount the fact that we are destroying our environment, but it is the extremists that get my dander up. The notion that the United States is to blame for all the global warming while minimizing what China or any other industrial country is doing angers me.

Another thing that angers me is the fact that some of the biggest promoters for fighting Global Warming are some of the most blatant offenders.

As to the other issues ... Health Care ... education ... wages ... etc, I am 100% behind you.

I would add to that list the problem of the problems our state has over the illegal immigration problem. As you know a growing number of states are taking on this issue on their own because the federal government won't. We have a number of large commercial farms here in North East Ohio that employ migrant workers, and no doubt the same is true elsewhere in this state.

What is the impact of this issue on Ohio? On our economy, on our schools, on our hospitals and on our welfare system?

Still another issue is doing something to break the toehold that Southern Ohio has on job creation.

If you were to put all the issues that need to be addressed on your plate like it was a meal it would feed you for a year, but I'm old enough and realistic enough to know that a freshman Representative, and especially a freshman from North East Ohio has a very small voice in the halls of the General Assembly, so I shant pile your plate too high, but end with my best wishes.

[irishbobcat]

Towntalk,

To answer your first question,  Both sides can be right based upon your belief system. Some people believe conservative ideas work best for this country, while others believe liberalism works best for this country.

Some people believe Darwin's animal survival of the fittest suggests that in the animal kingdom the strong will survive while the weak should die. But it is also noted in the animal kingdom that some species actually do look after the weak and work as a team. Canadian Geese are a good example. They fly in a V formation to create less drag and allows for them to not work as hard while flying. This same principle of a paceline is used in cycling. And when a goose goes down, usually 2 geese follow the weak or wounded one to the ground and stay with it until it can fly again or dies.

Sitting through many school science classes we have all been told that one day that life on this planet will cease to exist. The sun will
die, we may be hit by a killer astoroid, or any of the other scenarios you brought up. I doubt is a killer astoroid that will hit Youngtsown really doesn't care what type of legistlation I would propose to try to stop it's impact on Earth.

As a state representative, I can offer hope to the poor and working class citizens of this valley in that I believe in the following vision
that will help improve the quality of life for our current citizens and future citizens like my children:


My Vision for a Progressive 60th District


LIVING WAGE JOBS

Organize opposition to NAFTA trade policy and its desvastating impact on Ohio Jobs.  

Protect our workers and unions.



EDUCATION

Fund and protect public education.

Make college and technical education affordable.

Help provide support, advocacy, and information to Ohio parents and care givers  of children and adults with developmental disabilities and autism.



A CLEAN ENVIRONMENT

Promote clean alternative energy and create new alternative energy manufacturers in our valley.

Protect Ohio's air and water.

Improve mass transit - busses and trains are the way that many people get to work - and that number is expected to grow over 40% in the next 10 years. But, as fuel prices rise, the cost of running mass transit grows too. Dennis Spisak will work the city bus system in partnering with Youngstown State University to look for green solutions and less costs to riders and taxpayers.



Clean Elections

Eliminate fraudulent computer ballot counts and use verifiable paper ballots.

Assure that all Ohioans have an equal opportunity to vote and run for office.



HEALTH CARE FOR ALL OHIOANS

Pass The Health Care for All Ohioans Act that covers every Ohioan for any necessary procedure their doctor orders without exclusions for pre-existing conditions.



HEALTHCARE

Ohio Economy Needs Small Business and Small Business Needs Single-Payer

     Small business and the self-employed are driving Ohio's growing service economy to everyone's advantage, providing jobs for their communities, paying wages to their neighbors, and creating income and tax revenues that stay in the local area. Our economy needs these small businesses to help generate the recovery from the continued disastrous loss of our manufacturing base. The single largest obstacle to the success of small business operators is the prohibitive cost of providing health care coverage for themselves and their employees, and the inability to gauge future costs. Competitive wages, safe and reasonable working conditions and health care coverage are central to mutually beneficial relationships between employers and employees. These relationships were typical of collective bargaining between unions and companies, and are once again possible on a broader scale thanks to the Health Care for All Ohioans Act.  

    At the root of successful employer/employee cooperation is the elimination of adversarial conditions that pit workers against owners, as is the situation with rising, unaffordable health care costs, currently the main point of contention in every bargaining situation. For the self-employed, who are providing health care coverage for themselves and their families without the benefit of real collectives, The Health Care for All Ohioans Act provides immediate relief by creating access to comprehensive, affordable healthcare with a fixed, fair, progressive gross receipts tax. For businesses that primarily generate their receipts through service labor provided, the savings are dramatic. For many the resulting savings can then be reinvested in the business, increasing revenue and creating jobs with no increase in costs over that of privately provided for-profit coverage. For small businesses with payrolls, in addition to the gross receipts tax, the funding formula of the Health Care for All Ohioans Act provides for an affordable, fixed, progressive employer-paid payroll tax that increases only as payrolls increase. Successful businessmen and women know that increased revenues and increased payrolls can result in increased profits.

    We have dug the healthcare hole very deep, the solution will be expensive and no one wants cheap healthcare anyway, only accessible, affordable healthcare coverage. It is time for bold, innovative steps to solve this problem that will affect every one of us eventually.  For the first time businesses will have the opportunity to determine their future healthcare costs due to the fixed rates of the funding formula. Ask a business person if they would support a plan that would allow them to project their healthcare costs for the next five years, even taking into account possible increased initial cost.  The answer you will get is a resounding, YES!  Businesses prefer steady financial forecasts, workers prefer job security and job creation over day to day employment, and all parties prefer a mutually beneficial, respectful relationship. Predictable healthcare costs encourage business to grow, workers to thrive and collective bargaining to be successful. The Health Care for All Ohioans Act is a winner for us all.

Now Let's Reinvest These Savings

Healthcare coverage under the Healthcare for All Ohioans Act at the maximum payroll tax ceiling of 3.85%  will cost: (once again, the Ohio Legislature can set the payroll tax UNDER the 3.85% ceiling)

For a full-time employee earning $16 per hour....  $1,281 yearly    

                                              $20 per hour....  $1,602 yearly    

                                             $25 per hour .....$2002  yearly      

As you can see, the reduction in healthcare costs to self-employed persons under the gross receipts tax formula of the HCFAOA can fully fund healthcare for newly created jobs, all direct benefits of The Health Care for All Ohioans Act.

The Formula to Remember

Healthcare Savings=Job Creation=Increased Revenues=Increased Wages=Increased Production=Increased Profits=increased tax revenues.  Add Them All Together = Increased Wellness....Health Care for All Ohioans!

Sincerely,

Dennis S. Spisak
Independent Green Candidate for State Representative-60th District

campaign site: HTTP://votespisak.tripod.com

[ForumManager]

Isn't the theory that global warming is going to cause the ice age, because the polar ice caps are melting and significantly lowering the water temperature in the oceans.   

[Towntalk]

I just put up an Investors Daily Business editorial that would seem to contradict the Global Warming theory titled THE SUN ALSO SETS referring to a coming Ice Age. Please read it and explain to we doubting Thomases just how the two differing theories can both be right.
http://farrell-report.tripod.com at the Global Warming page.

How would you as a state legislator deal with these two conflicting theories - {Earth burning up and Earth in a deep freeze}.

The History Channel offers a third and fourth theory - an asteroid hit - the expanded universe theory which proposes that our Galaxy will be torn to shreds as the Sun becomes a Dwarf star.

How can we enact laws that would prevent an asteroid hit, our Galaxy being torn asunder, a new Ice Age, or a super Volcano that would also throw us into an Ice Age?