My guess is most people were blissfully unaware of the fact that a few gallons of gas might from time to time leak into the ground. FWIW, to this day, I’ve never read a story about so-and-so who got sick from drinking water that might have had a trace of gasoline in it.
Also, if you happen to sell gasoline for a living and one of your underground tanks happens to be leaking, this is something you're probably going to want to fix. After all, you can’t sell gas that doesn’t make it into the car. For the record, I also have no problem punishing gasoline owners who don’t fix leaking gas tanks once they become aware of the fact there is a leak. That is, regarding the great leaking gasoline crisis, there were “solutions” that would not cause all the bad effects I’ve outlined above.
Thanks. There's a study for that. The story doesn't mention the country stores that were closed or the millions of extra miles people had to drive to fill up their tank or get a loaf of bread. If Climate Change is today's real existential threat, how did that help fight Climate Change? All the jobs that were lost because of these regs don't phase them at all. Probably a good thing I didn't take over the family business. I wasn't as tough as my father.
Apr 18, 2023·edited Apr 18, 2023Liked by Bill Rice, Jr.
Of course tanks buried underground leak eventually, but the more important question posed by this article is the harm caused by undue regulation and complexity associated with compliance. In general, it seems to favor the "big guy" and one must ponder why?
Plus, from a risk standpoint, so much money is spent needlessly that there must be some other explanation behind the unfair complexity - it suggest the rules are made to favor the "big guy" and I think I can prove that.
Frankly, I'm fedup with federal authority in general.
I advocate for Article V action, but in the absence of that, then folks gotta do what folks gotta do to survive locally.
At one company I worked for, there were a few fellas who pretty much worked exclusively at "Exxon-related" gas stations to help them navigate through all these complicated rules, but it was only profitable I suspect by virtue of the volume of business, and frankly environmental regulations ought not be a function of volume of work for consultants who only the big companies can afford. It speaks to how the regs have lost all sense of scale, and so has journalism - journalism is the most misbegotten profession these days for those in the MSM and it is more than evident - it is obvious. All they spew is propaganda and this goes hand-n-hand with overly complex rules that harm the little guy.
So, suggest it is time for some Article V Action - either that, or separation from those who make such harmful rules.
Assuming your comment doesn't change all I put forth was Article V ought be the first option. If it is not feasible, then move on to the 2nd I reckon.
As far as being "careful about what I wish for" I don't wish for much, but I do believe justice must be served and I have faith that it will be. In fact, come to think about it, I don't wish for anything. So, no need to tell me what to be careful about because I know what my principles are and I stand upon that foundation.
Plus - can you provide legal citation with respect to the 5-year time frame?
My suspicion is unless the state legislature rescinds the desire for a convention then once they pass the resolution it is timeless.
I hear ya. No offense taken on my end. I truly don't wish for anything but I know justice is on the way. I feel it in my bones. It is a tsunami of indignation - I refer to it as justified retribution.
Yes, they know. No, they don’t care. My buddy’s family had a lumber yard/ hardware store in our small town in Utah. Third generation owners, 10 employees. The EPA came, inspected, and slapped them with a $100,000 fine because the treated lumber they kept for sale might get wet, and it might leach copper salts into a dry creek, which might run into another dry creek, which might eventually contaminate the Colorado River. This was totally ignoring the fact that they had already spent $50,000 on a concrete containment basin that would hold at least twice the amount of water that had ever fallen in that desert clime.
In my experience with EPA inspectors (I've met many on many occasions) the sad conclusion I came to was you do yourself no favors telling them anything above and beyond what they are inquiring about. Be respectful of course, but don't answer questions with any elaboration because I learned over time that they are not there to help you or to make things better. They are sort of like cops on the beat - "anything you say can be used against you". It ought not be that way, but that is the way it is - so the less you tell them the better and remember this you are always allowed to simply say: I don't answer questions - assuming you are not already under indictment.
Follow the rules as best you can, but don't offer up any info not directly solicited and in general don't trust them because sadly they don't have your interest at heart. In the long run I suspect their days are numbered. Both the EPA and the justice department so corrupt it seems these days. What a shame it all is.
Time for some Article V action, but if not that, then time for Option #2.
I think this experience might sadly speak to the power of bureaucracy and the consequences of not having somebody with a full understanding of the rules on your team....plus, somebody who knows how to talk to all parties to keep things in perspective. Sounds like this incident turned into a "battle of wills" and the feds asserted their authority to send a message I reckon. Little did the feds know I suppose in the long run that if they seemed to be sending one message after another about their authority to control local business federally in ways that made no sense and basically were harmful to the community that eventually enough folks would get fedup with the feds such that the authority they thought they had would become a wisp in the wind - either gone, forgotten, or ignored. Eventually dismissed by local folks just trying to conduct business and sick and tired of feds trying to run their lives and determined to keep their business going for the sake of the local community.
Now, this doesn't mean if you have treated lumber you don't need to store it proper because sometimes when it rains ephemeral streams get full of water and that water will flow to the river or seep into the ground, but it does mean that too many rules just ruin everything and I think most folks nowadays care about the environment and last thing we need is a bunch of b-crats telling us how to live our lives.
Brilliant. This is just another way to crush small businesses so that fascism, which requires businesses to collude with government, takes more of our freedom. Because a few big businesses are much easier for government to control than millions of small ones.
I had a few sentences in the story that make the same point, Doug. I cut them because the story was already running long. Thanks for making that point though. I think it's important.
I live in a tiny Colorado town way down at the end of a county road and up against a string of 14,000 foot peaks. All we have out here is a few mom and pop stores, a post office, and a credit union. Closest large towns are 50 miles north or south. Our "downtown" is maybe 2 city blocks square. The citizenry is maybe 2000 people on a busy day, and these folks are spread out along the mountainside for miles.
There is a nice whole foods type grocery store that has a gas pump. Ten years ago they had to replace the underground tanks because of known leaks. They paid a lot, but those tanks are always being used since they are the only gas tanks for 50 miles, and the store is doing well.
I grew up in Alabama and spent a lot of time out in the rural places where it is beautiful. Small country stores were some of the best places to visit, shop, meet the folks. Such stores are mostly gone now, just as Bill says here.
I'm so sorry your father went through what he did. It does seem that what he went through wasn't quite right. This video might help people understand a lot with regards to what your father went through and how the government is not quite what we think it is (separate from the crisis we've been in for the past 3 years): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3NA17CCboA
Although I didn't grow up in a rural area, I did grow up in the suburbs and sure do miss the mom and pop store that were in my town. Now every town, every state, every country has the same big corporate stores that are quite boring and take away the beautiful character of the towns that make them what they are. The little candy store, the toy store, or the ice cream store that's fun to go to when you're a kid. Local was everything and affordable. Even the malls had some local stores that made it feel unique. Taking all of this personality away from each town, state, and country is what the monsters planned to do. It takes away our identity and character. It takes away the fun. I see kids go into 5 Below and think, how sad that they don't get to experience the county discount (5 and dime store but newer, I guess) store that I so enjoyed. Now it's just pure crap coming out of some other country that is literally made like crap. How do we get back to what this country is about, a constitutional republic? How do we support the local mom and pops and build them up when very few can afford to shop in these stores now?
Most of us know the problems. We now need to find the answers so we can get back to what is the USA.
As Dad said, you've got to get big or get out. I used to sell advertising. It's harder than ever these days because there are so few Mom and Pop (locally-owned) smaller type businesses that you can call on. Those were the business owners or managers who could make an advertising decision. Now you've got to reach some district manager in Atlanta or some big ad agency to get a decision or make your pitch. It's not even worth the effort.
First, I've lived in three small rural towns in 61 yrs, and we always supported mom n pops. Second, if newer and bigger is, a) Walmart, b) Anheuser-Busch, or c) the US Gov't, I could live without 'em!
The EPA is not actually authorised in the Constitution. It us an illegal operation snd should be dissolved. For the sake if Life and Liberty and the pursuits of a full-filled life, for the sake of our souls, it should be dissolved.
That little station looks almost exactly like the old Standard station in Foster City (pop 400), MI which closed for the exact same reason. Ironically, the former owner, a friend and patient of mine, died of cancer shortly before the fact, although his cancer was most likely not related to any leaks (or potential leaks).
This is the same reason you don’t see doctors hanging out their own shingles anymore. The cost to start and run an independent practice while remaining in compliance with the hundreds of thousands of regulations makes it impossible unless you are already independently wealthy or are taking over your grandfather’s practice which is already paid for and equipped. And now we are stuck with corporate medicine. I haven’t noticed the average life expectancy improve any with the addition of the mountains of fees and paperwork either.
I've never thought about that. That would work too.
You probably know this. If any property ever sold gasoline, that property is now pretty much toxic to investors, bankers, etc. That's probably why nobody will buy all the old country stores that are now Zombie houses.
Florida has a program called PRP—the Petroleum Restoration Program—that funds the remediation of contaminated sites. As long as a site owner has signed up for the program, the cleanup and restoration of the site is paid for by a certain percentage of the gasoline tax. Does Alabama have a similar program?
I don't know. Perhaps. There is some "Super Fund" programs. None of those programs helped small business people like my father. His company had to spend all this money - money that could have been spent on a hundred different projects, including projects that would create new local jobs.
There was a time that the tanks were above ground, at least around some parts of the south and midwest. There are a few left scattered throughout the country. Probably, EPA went after them cuz it suited to do so and sidestepped their regs. Before there was an EPA and their non-sensical regs.
Along the coast highway in South LA county are YUGE gasoline and oil storage tanks. All above ground with floating lids (at least they had them in the 80s when I was last in CA).
Actually I was talking about the above ground tanks at gas stations when I was growing up. They were behind or off to the side of the building. In my area the last one I knew of was recently taken down. Not sure when the in-ground fuel tanks became the norm.
The heart in this piece makes it compelling and relatable. I’m thinking about my tiny hometown on the northern border that is chronically struggling...people manage to survive, they have to be tough as nails.
One time I heard Tucker Carlson say the federal government is the largest employer on the planet. So I looked up how many people employed in all those agencies and departments. Depends on how you count, between 2 and 4 MILLION are paid by our dollars to dream up new rules, enforce regulations that are promulgated every time a law is passed...and a huge percentage of these federal employees are apparently armed.
Between corporations requiring employees to devote their lives to work instead of tending their families and communities, and federal/state/local regulatory agencies intruding on so very many aspects of our daily lives (nanny state?), thus unconsciously disrupting patterns that hold people together...and so many other trends that have harmful cumulative effects...we have a very long road ahead of us to rebuild this republic.
If you add up federal employees and then state, county and city - and school systems and higher education - and then contractors who service government accounts or work indirectly for the government, I bet it's now 40 percent of the labor force. As they say, this is unsustainable. And, as you point out, many of those government employees seem to exist to make the lives of the private employers miserable. "Sigh" indeed.
Great article. I, too, remember the country gas station/stores. The fake food, fake meds, and fake jabs they are forcing us to take are why the cancer rates are soaring. And it all leads to two things: money and power. I would toss my computers, phones, and TV out the window to go back to the days before all of it. Though life is easier in some respects with technology, for the most part, it's become a lot harder.
Interestingly these are from the top longest single word anagrams of “Law of Unintended Consequences”. I have removed the ones that seem positive, but there weren't many.
"Law of Unintended Consequences" has 27 letters total and I challenge anybody to come up with an anagram with all 27 letters - if you are up to the challenge, then I challenge you to tell me all the possible anagrams with 27 letters total in the English language per the Oxford Dictionary Unabridged current addition - come AI - see if you can do that.
Apr 19, 2023·edited Apr 19, 2023Liked by Bill Rice, Jr.
Hey - your score was almost perfect, but there is no "'" in the Law of Unintended Consequences, so I have had to deduct 1 point for that.....ah man. If you had just typed Annes and left the "'" out of it, I think you would have gotten a perfect score, but I haven't really checked, because I have other puzzles to solve!
ha, ha.
Of course, I could be wrong because the big dictionary I have in my office is actually Websters Third New International Dictionary, unabridged. It was published in 1986 and it has 2662 pages official followed by a little writeup on Noah Webster (10 16 1758 - 5 28 1843) - the fella was long lived and good for him. I really appreciate this dictionary and have referred to it many times for words potentially uncertain, so now I'm going to look up "qed". Give me a moment please.
Per the dictionary, page 1856 first column, "QED" abbr - which was to be demonstrated.
OK, I'm sorry 1 more point deducted, but did you know qadi is a "legit" word that has a "q" without a "u" after it?
I'll never be perfect. As soon as I post my stories, I immediately see seven glaring typos and mistakes. And I know I'm missing seven others. I edit when I can, but everyone gets the first wrong version.
So maybe that is a "purpose" of "ReStack"....I'd appreciate a FAQ on "Notes", but so far they seem of value to me....so far....
I try to make a "note" of an edit that I make if I think it ought be noted and such.
Hey - do you play Oh Hell?
You know, some of your other readers here might appreciate this link to "online Oh Hell"....I don't offer any assurances on it, but it seems like a link from somebody just like to program games....so I think it is harmless, but watch out for that one player to the left so far is what I think. Oh Hell is a fine card game for peasants and elitist in their own minds I reckon. Anybody can learn and play Oh Hell - learning is one thing - playing it well another.
Woe is me, I am undone! To be fair it was poetic license on my part to put the apostrophe in Anne's (and queen's I cannot tell a lie) to make better sense.
This is my advice unsolicited. First - learn how to tell a lie but only tell it if forced and no answer is deserved, but they force you to respond. If so, tell them what they want to hear but know that it is a lie and then if possible wink at the one there who is just holding a gun.
Otherwise, always tell the truth if not under duress.
Plus, I think the apostrophes helped understand and I appreciate poetic license as much as the next fella but I wonder about the apostrophe in let's. I prefer lets.
Shall we let this conversation come to an end for now - and that anagram AI you seem to have access to is very impressive.....is that something you can share sort of like I shared the link to the Oh Hell card game or is it proprietary? I'm curious.
OK, fine thanks for mentioning the "queen's" thing - 3 point deducted in total.
I don't think anybody is going to get a higher score!
Too Funny and thank-you!
BK
ps - by the way I see that the word queen was used twice with an apostrophe but I missed that after I read about Anne and you proclaimed you can't tell a lie, but you didn't say there were 2 queens now did you? So, just 3 points deducted because can't come back and change the score after the fact now can ya? As for what the score really is, that just depends - tis subjective I reckon.
Thanks and yes, we need what in the USA military I understand is called R &R to relieve the stresses and strains of this battle. I do my best to entertain the troops!
Hi Bill - that's a sad story about your dad. And a realistic assessment of the insane ramping up of federal regulations all over the western countries that are systematically driving small and medium sized businesses out of business.
I was a small business operator in Australia and it vexed me the endless regulations that the government kept adding that kept eroding my margins, making it harder to survive, and more lucrative for big business. I came to the conclusion it was deliberate, and since Covid-19 broke it has only intensified that conclusion,.
In Australia 80% of all small businesses go broke in the first 5 years. And 95% in the first 10 years.
I always patted myself on the back for surviving more than 10 years.
And then I moved to Asia.
And I discovered the exact opposite paradigm here. Because there is a much. more free market, the costs of living are less, and the cost of opening a small business is a fraction of back home and much more opportunity the numbers are reversed. 80% of small business start ups make a success of what they do - and if they go broke they lose a little. And most of the business owners who failed the first time save up some money and have another crack and most often succeed. And what blows my mind here is how often I see people trying out business ideas for a short period, deciding they don't like it or they want to try something different and they shut it down and start again. Why? Because the cost of failure is so much less and here there are so many opportunities to start and try something without great cost. At home in Oz you'd need to have a lot of money saved to even start a small venture like a restaurant - and you'd have to sign up to a lease for years and put your savings on the line - if you fail your usually out of the game for years to come. I saw many friends back home try and fail and never went back to trying again. Because the costs were too high.
This is the problem with all of the western "democracies" - we have literally legislated small business out of existence - it's "get a job" - which is code for go to work for big capitalism. Which controls our government. Fascism by another name.
Have you read the Op Covid-Shield plan for injecting all of our citizens with their mRNA poisons? Here's a link. It' a shocking, shocking, shocking document. Especially when you look t the date it was published and the graph of deaths to the point before the injections, if memory serves me right there had been no claimed deaths for 6 months. Then they started their terror campaign laid out in detail in this document.
We were all the people in construction, mining, etc who walked off the job. They don't care about deaths and adverse reactions. But when we stopped showing up to fix their shit they sure noticed.
Edit: we laid down all our shirts on the steps of parliament in WA so they had to walk over them on their way in. December 1, 2021.
My guess is most people were blissfully unaware of the fact that a few gallons of gas might from time to time leak into the ground. FWIW, to this day, I’ve never read a story about so-and-so who got sick from drinking water that might have had a trace of gasoline in it.
Also, if you happen to sell gasoline for a living and one of your underground tanks happens to be leaking, this is something you're probably going to want to fix. After all, you can’t sell gas that doesn’t make it into the car. For the record, I also have no problem punishing gasoline owners who don’t fix leaking gas tanks once they become aware of the fact there is a leak. That is, regarding the great leaking gasoline crisis, there were “solutions” that would not cause all the bad effects I’ve outlined above.
https://www.aeaweb.org/research/underground-storage-tanks-health-impacts
Thanks. There's a study for that. The story doesn't mention the country stores that were closed or the millions of extra miles people had to drive to fill up their tank or get a loaf of bread. If Climate Change is today's real existential threat, how did that help fight Climate Change? All the jobs that were lost because of these regs don't phase them at all. Probably a good thing I didn't take over the family business. I wasn't as tough as my father.
The study does give an example, that you asked for.
Of course tanks buried underground leak eventually, but the more important question posed by this article is the harm caused by undue regulation and complexity associated with compliance. In general, it seems to favor the "big guy" and one must ponder why?
Plus, from a risk standpoint, so much money is spent needlessly that there must be some other explanation behind the unfair complexity - it suggest the rules are made to favor the "big guy" and I think I can prove that.
Frankly, I'm fedup with federal authority in general.
I advocate for Article V action, but in the absence of that, then folks gotta do what folks gotta do to survive locally.
At one company I worked for, there were a few fellas who pretty much worked exclusively at "Exxon-related" gas stations to help them navigate through all these complicated rules, but it was only profitable I suspect by virtue of the volume of business, and frankly environmental regulations ought not be a function of volume of work for consultants who only the big companies can afford. It speaks to how the regs have lost all sense of scale, and so has journalism - journalism is the most misbegotten profession these days for those in the MSM and it is more than evident - it is obvious. All they spew is propaganda and this goes hand-n-hand with overly complex rules that harm the little guy.
So, suggest it is time for some Article V Action - either that, or separation from those who make such harmful rules.
Limit the government and shrink it every chance you get.
Ain't never gna be a C of the States.
2/3 have to be in agreement at the same time.
A State can call for a convention, but the call must be re done every five years. Different administrations, different ideas.
2/3 and five years may not be exactly right but that is the structure.
It was by design meant to be hard to do.
And you might want to be careful what you wish for.
When was the last big conservative win.
The Marxist will cheat lie and steal, they would probably come out on top of a COS.
Assuming your comment doesn't change all I put forth was Article V ought be the first option. If it is not feasible, then move on to the 2nd I reckon.
As far as being "careful about what I wish for" I don't wish for much, but I do believe justice must be served and I have faith that it will be. In fact, come to think about it, I don't wish for anything. So, no need to tell me what to be careful about because I know what my principles are and I stand upon that foundation.
Plus - can you provide legal citation with respect to the 5-year time frame?
My suspicion is unless the state legislature rescinds the desire for a convention then once they pass the resolution it is timeless.
No not gna look it up, but I have in the past.
"Be careful what you wish for"
Is a common saying.
I hear ya. No offense taken on my end. I truly don't wish for anything but I know justice is on the way. I feel it in my bones. It is a tsunami of indignation - I refer to it as justified retribution.
So, now you know my sentiment.
As for the US Constitution as a US citizen I still ascribe to it even though the federal authorities apparently don't!
I agree with the first sentence,
I don't understand the 2nd one, but I have a thick skull!
Yes, they know. No, they don’t care. My buddy’s family had a lumber yard/ hardware store in our small town in Utah. Third generation owners, 10 employees. The EPA came, inspected, and slapped them with a $100,000 fine because the treated lumber they kept for sale might get wet, and it might leach copper salts into a dry creek, which might run into another dry creek, which might eventually contaminate the Colorado River. This was totally ignoring the fact that they had already spent $50,000 on a concrete containment basin that would hold at least twice the amount of water that had ever fallen in that desert clime.
I bet I'll get a lot of similar examples. Dry cleaners have it rough too.
There is a simple cause for all of which you and others here speak.
Big government.
There is also a simple answer.
Never vote or support anything that enlarges the government
They use to step over windrows of asbestos snow in shipyards, that didn't work out to well.
And yet the EPA caused a massive toxic spill in SE Colorado in 2015 that contaminated the Animas river causing who knows how much damage.
Yet the evil EPA dumped mine waste into the Yampa because they are STUPID
That breaks my heart. 💔
In my experience with EPA inspectors (I've met many on many occasions) the sad conclusion I came to was you do yourself no favors telling them anything above and beyond what they are inquiring about. Be respectful of course, but don't answer questions with any elaboration because I learned over time that they are not there to help you or to make things better. They are sort of like cops on the beat - "anything you say can be used against you". It ought not be that way, but that is the way it is - so the less you tell them the better and remember this you are always allowed to simply say: I don't answer questions - assuming you are not already under indictment.
Follow the rules as best you can, but don't offer up any info not directly solicited and in general don't trust them because sadly they don't have your interest at heart. In the long run I suspect their days are numbered. Both the EPA and the justice department so corrupt it seems these days. What a shame it all is.
Time for some Article V action, but if not that, then time for Option #2.
I think this experience might sadly speak to the power of bureaucracy and the consequences of not having somebody with a full understanding of the rules on your team....plus, somebody who knows how to talk to all parties to keep things in perspective. Sounds like this incident turned into a "battle of wills" and the feds asserted their authority to send a message I reckon. Little did the feds know I suppose in the long run that if they seemed to be sending one message after another about their authority to control local business federally in ways that made no sense and basically were harmful to the community that eventually enough folks would get fedup with the feds such that the authority they thought they had would become a wisp in the wind - either gone, forgotten, or ignored. Eventually dismissed by local folks just trying to conduct business and sick and tired of feds trying to run their lives and determined to keep their business going for the sake of the local community.
Now, this doesn't mean if you have treated lumber you don't need to store it proper because sometimes when it rains ephemeral streams get full of water and that water will flow to the river or seep into the ground, but it does mean that too many rules just ruin everything and I think most folks nowadays care about the environment and last thing we need is a bunch of b-crats telling us how to live our lives.
Brilliant. This is just another way to crush small businesses so that fascism, which requires businesses to collude with government, takes more of our freedom. Because a few big businesses are much easier for government to control than millions of small ones.
I had a few sentences in the story that make the same point, Doug. I cut them because the story was already running long. Thanks for making that point though. I think it's important.
I live in a tiny Colorado town way down at the end of a county road and up against a string of 14,000 foot peaks. All we have out here is a few mom and pop stores, a post office, and a credit union. Closest large towns are 50 miles north or south. Our "downtown" is maybe 2 city blocks square. The citizenry is maybe 2000 people on a busy day, and these folks are spread out along the mountainside for miles.
There is a nice whole foods type grocery store that has a gas pump. Ten years ago they had to replace the underground tanks because of known leaks. They paid a lot, but those tanks are always being used since they are the only gas tanks for 50 miles, and the store is doing well.
I grew up in Alabama and spent a lot of time out in the rural places where it is beautiful. Small country stores were some of the best places to visit, shop, meet the folks. Such stores are mostly gone now, just as Bill says here.
Thanks for this writing Bill.
I'm so sorry your father went through what he did. It does seem that what he went through wasn't quite right. This video might help people understand a lot with regards to what your father went through and how the government is not quite what we think it is (separate from the crisis we've been in for the past 3 years): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3NA17CCboA
Although I didn't grow up in a rural area, I did grow up in the suburbs and sure do miss the mom and pop store that were in my town. Now every town, every state, every country has the same big corporate stores that are quite boring and take away the beautiful character of the towns that make them what they are. The little candy store, the toy store, or the ice cream store that's fun to go to when you're a kid. Local was everything and affordable. Even the malls had some local stores that made it feel unique. Taking all of this personality away from each town, state, and country is what the monsters planned to do. It takes away our identity and character. It takes away the fun. I see kids go into 5 Below and think, how sad that they don't get to experience the county discount (5 and dime store but newer, I guess) store that I so enjoyed. Now it's just pure crap coming out of some other country that is literally made like crap. How do we get back to what this country is about, a constitutional republic? How do we support the local mom and pops and build them up when very few can afford to shop in these stores now?
Most of us know the problems. We now need to find the answers so we can get back to what is the USA.
The mom and pops are gone because we did not support them.
Newer and bigger really is better.
As Dad said, you've got to get big or get out. I used to sell advertising. It's harder than ever these days because there are so few Mom and Pop (locally-owned) smaller type businesses that you can call on. Those were the business owners or managers who could make an advertising decision. Now you've got to reach some district manager in Atlanta or some big ad agency to get a decision or make your pitch. It's not even worth the effort.
4 ad agencies control the world.
First, I've lived in three small rural towns in 61 yrs, and we always supported mom n pops. Second, if newer and bigger is, a) Walmart, b) Anheuser-Busch, or c) the US Gov't, I could live without 'em!
I moved from friendswood TX to Picayune Ms in 70.
I went back in time.
The Tx Chain Stores were much better than the Ms Mom and Pops.
When the Chain Stores came to Picayune, people ran to them.
The EPA is not actually authorised in the Constitution. It us an illegal operation snd should be dissolved. For the sake if Life and Liberty and the pursuits of a full-filled life, for the sake of our souls, it should be dissolved.
Nixon getting the last laugh.
Didn't SCOTUS just have a ruling on this? What ever happened with that?
I don't know. I'd like to know though.
West Virginia vs EPA was decided last year. It basically held that EPA exceeded its authority to regulate coal mines emissions.
Nothing about whether the EPA is constitutional.
The death of all the different types of small, individualized stores is what has made this country a generic, dull, boring hell hole.
That little station looks almost exactly like the old Standard station in Foster City (pop 400), MI which closed for the exact same reason. Ironically, the former owner, a friend and patient of mine, died of cancer shortly before the fact, although his cancer was most likely not related to any leaks (or potential leaks).
This is the same reason you don’t see doctors hanging out their own shingles anymore. The cost to start and run an independent practice while remaining in compliance with the hundreds of thousands of regulations makes it impossible unless you are already independently wealthy or are taking over your grandfather’s practice which is already paid for and equipped. And now we are stuck with corporate medicine. I haven’t noticed the average life expectancy improve any with the addition of the mountains of fees and paperwork either.
Thanks, Victoria. It's pretty clear it's not just gasoline distributors who felt coerced and under siege.
All those little stores and jobs could still exist. Put tanks above ground but regulations.
If they leak you know it and the fix is easy.
More driving = more deaths.
How do carpool lanes kill children?
How many people crash and die during construction to fix a un safe section of road?
I'm here from the government and I don't give a damn if I hurt you.
I've never thought about that. That would work too.
You probably know this. If any property ever sold gasoline, that property is now pretty much toxic to investors, bankers, etc. That's probably why nobody will buy all the old country stores that are now Zombie houses.
Democrat Headquarters?
Florida has a program called PRP—the Petroleum Restoration Program—that funds the remediation of contaminated sites. As long as a site owner has signed up for the program, the cleanup and restoration of the site is paid for by a certain percentage of the gasoline tax. Does Alabama have a similar program?
I don't know. Perhaps. There is some "Super Fund" programs. None of those programs helped small business people like my father. His company had to spend all this money - money that could have been spent on a hundred different projects, including projects that would create new local jobs.
There was a time that the tanks were above ground, at least around some parts of the south and midwest. There are a few left scattered throughout the country. Probably, EPA went after them cuz it suited to do so and sidestepped their regs. Before there was an EPA and their non-sensical regs.
Along the coast highway in South LA county are YUGE gasoline and oil storage tanks. All above ground with floating lids (at least they had them in the 80s when I was last in CA).
Actually I was talking about the above ground tanks at gas stations when I was growing up. They were behind or off to the side of the building. In my area the last one I knew of was recently taken down. Not sure when the in-ground fuel tanks became the norm.
The heart in this piece makes it compelling and relatable. I’m thinking about my tiny hometown on the northern border that is chronically struggling...people manage to survive, they have to be tough as nails.
One time I heard Tucker Carlson say the federal government is the largest employer on the planet. So I looked up how many people employed in all those agencies and departments. Depends on how you count, between 2 and 4 MILLION are paid by our dollars to dream up new rules, enforce regulations that are promulgated every time a law is passed...and a huge percentage of these federal employees are apparently armed.
Between corporations requiring employees to devote their lives to work instead of tending their families and communities, and federal/state/local regulatory agencies intruding on so very many aspects of our daily lives (nanny state?), thus unconsciously disrupting patterns that hold people together...and so many other trends that have harmful cumulative effects...we have a very long road ahead of us to rebuild this republic.
Sigh.
If you add up federal employees and then state, county and city - and school systems and higher education - and then contractors who service government accounts or work indirectly for the government, I bet it's now 40 percent of the labor force. As they say, this is unsustainable. And, as you point out, many of those government employees seem to exist to make the lives of the private employers miserable. "Sigh" indeed.
I heard an interesting analysis of the Bud Light situation from a stockbroker. He said that when companies deliberately tank their stock in order to have higher ESG scores, they are always doing so with an eye to the future: a future where the government is their only shareholder. Also the head of Bud Light is former CIA so there's that. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11974797/Who-CEO-Anheuser-Busch-American-boss-fire-Bud-Light-owner-earns-12M-year.html
I work for DEQ- Department of Environmental Quality which is who they go through for permits. The fees and some regulations are outrageous.
This is why people voted for Trump and then they were called racist by city people.
Thanks, Bill. Beautiful article.
Great article. I, too, remember the country gas station/stores. The fake food, fake meds, and fake jabs they are forcing us to take are why the cancer rates are soaring. And it all leads to two things: money and power. I would toss my computers, phones, and TV out the window to go back to the days before all of it. Though life is easier in some respects with technology, for the most part, it's become a lot harder.
I would spend sometime studying Psychopaths. Your answer is hiding there.
I am from the government, and I bring you the “Law of Unintended Consequences” whether you want them or not . . .
A+
Interestingly these are from the top longest single word anagrams of “Law of Unintended Consequences”. I have removed the ones that seem positive, but there weren't many.
discountenanced
discountenances
connectionless
discountenance
noncontinuance
unconsolidated
conceitedness
condescension
consuetudinal
consuetudines
consultancies
culdocenteses
culdocentesis
deceitfulness
nonconfidence
nonfunctional
"Law of Unintended Consequences" has 27 letters total and I challenge anybody to come up with an anagram with all 27 letters - if you are up to the challenge, then I challenge you to tell me all the possible anagrams with 27 letters total in the English language per the Oxford Dictionary Unabridged current addition - come AI - see if you can do that.
The AI anagrammer I use does not say what dictionary it uses. We might be at this for days, but I did get these which are reasonable I think.
connectedness unique Aden wolf
conclusions en fee qed unwanted
accidents neon newfound sequel
Anne's conquest once fueled wind
queen's accent fueled winds noon
Acton queen’s nonce fueled winds
So if there should be a 'rushing mighty wind' you will know who to blame!
Hey - your score was almost perfect, but there is no "'" in the Law of Unintended Consequences, so I have had to deduct 1 point for that.....ah man. If you had just typed Annes and left the "'" out of it, I think you would have gotten a perfect score, but I haven't really checked, because I have other puzzles to solve!
ha, ha.
Of course, I could be wrong because the big dictionary I have in my office is actually Websters Third New International Dictionary, unabridged. It was published in 1986 and it has 2662 pages official followed by a little writeup on Noah Webster (10 16 1758 - 5 28 1843) - the fella was long lived and good for him. I really appreciate this dictionary and have referred to it many times for words potentially uncertain, so now I'm going to look up "qed". Give me a moment please.
Per the dictionary, page 1856 first column, "QED" abbr - which was to be demonstrated.
OK, I'm sorry 1 more point deducted, but did you know qadi is a "legit" word that has a "q" without a "u" after it?
BK
I'll never be perfect. As soon as I post my stories, I immediately see seven glaring typos and mistakes. And I know I'm missing seven others. I edit when I can, but everyone gets the first wrong version.
So maybe that is a "purpose" of "ReStack"....I'd appreciate a FAQ on "Notes", but so far they seem of value to me....so far....
I try to make a "note" of an edit that I make if I think it ought be noted and such.
Hey - do you play Oh Hell?
You know, some of your other readers here might appreciate this link to "online Oh Hell"....I don't offer any assurances on it, but it seems like a link from somebody just like to program games....so I think it is harmless, but watch out for that one player to the left so far is what I think. Oh Hell is a fine card game for peasants and elitist in their own minds I reckon. Anybody can learn and play Oh Hell - learning is one thing - playing it well another.
Here is the link:
https://cardgames.io/ohhell/
BK
Woe is me, I am undone! To be fair it was poetic license on my part to put the apostrophe in Anne's (and queen's I cannot tell a lie) to make better sense.
Anyway, have fun in your other puzzles.
This is my advice unsolicited. First - learn how to tell a lie but only tell it if forced and no answer is deserved, but they force you to respond. If so, tell them what they want to hear but know that it is a lie and then if possible wink at the one there who is just holding a gun.
Otherwise, always tell the truth if not under duress.
Plus, I think the apostrophes helped understand and I appreciate poetic license as much as the next fella but I wonder about the apostrophe in let's. I prefer lets.
Shall we let this conversation come to an end for now - and that anagram AI you seem to have access to is very impressive.....is that something you can share sort of like I shared the link to the Oh Hell card game or is it proprietary? I'm curious.
OK, fine thanks for mentioning the "queen's" thing - 3 point deducted in total.
I don't think anybody is going to get a higher score!
Too Funny and thank-you!
BK
ps - by the way I see that the word queen was used twice with an apostrophe but I missed that after I read about Anne and you proclaimed you can't tell a lie, but you didn't say there were 2 queens now did you? So, just 3 points deducted because can't come back and change the score after the fact now can ya? As for what the score really is, that just depends - tis subjective I reckon.
You know that also speaks to "script" because if they are truly anagrams of one another, then evidently the script doesn't support that.
Fact of the matter is they ain't all anagrams.
Do you want me to prove it?
OK...discountenanced - 15 letters in that one.
nonfunctional - 13 letter in that one.
Oh wait, you were making anagrams out of "Law of Unintended Consequences" - you haven't even touched upon it........
Too Funny!
and try this one out....
"Win led antique den of non"
(Edit - this is not easy to do.....I should stop now....what is a den of non anyhow?)
I should have said part anagrams, i.e. what words can you extract from the phrase, my apologies.
I thought it was (and is) clever - thanks for providing a word game diversion because sometimes we need a break from the "crazy" world these days.....
Thumbs Up!
BK
Thanks and yes, we need what in the USA military I understand is called R &R to relieve the stresses and strains of this battle. I do my best to entertain the troops!
Hi Bill - that's a sad story about your dad. And a realistic assessment of the insane ramping up of federal regulations all over the western countries that are systematically driving small and medium sized businesses out of business.
I was a small business operator in Australia and it vexed me the endless regulations that the government kept adding that kept eroding my margins, making it harder to survive, and more lucrative for big business. I came to the conclusion it was deliberate, and since Covid-19 broke it has only intensified that conclusion,.
In Australia 80% of all small businesses go broke in the first 5 years. And 95% in the first 10 years.
I always patted myself on the back for surviving more than 10 years.
And then I moved to Asia.
And I discovered the exact opposite paradigm here. Because there is a much. more free market, the costs of living are less, and the cost of opening a small business is a fraction of back home and much more opportunity the numbers are reversed. 80% of small business start ups make a success of what they do - and if they go broke they lose a little. And most of the business owners who failed the first time save up some money and have another crack and most often succeed. And what blows my mind here is how often I see people trying out business ideas for a short period, deciding they don't like it or they want to try something different and they shut it down and start again. Why? Because the cost of failure is so much less and here there are so many opportunities to start and try something without great cost. At home in Oz you'd need to have a lot of money saved to even start a small venture like a restaurant - and you'd have to sign up to a lease for years and put your savings on the line - if you fail your usually out of the game for years to come. I saw many friends back home try and fail and never went back to trying again. Because the costs were too high.
This is the problem with all of the western "democracies" - we have literally legislated small business out of existence - it's "get a job" - which is code for go to work for big capitalism. Which controls our government. Fascism by another name.
Ivan
Vietnam?
Hi David - Thailand
I can confirm this message. Fighting behind enemy lines.
p.s. Do you want some sketched ideas for articles to write?
Absolutely. email me at VicParkPetition@protonmail.com
Great - I'll send you mail 2mrw. I generate a ton of article ideas that never get actioned because I don't have time to do them. Talk soon
Have you read the Op Covid-Shield plan for injecting all of our citizens with their mRNA poisons? Here's a link. It' a shocking, shocking, shocking document. Especially when you look t the date it was published and the graph of deaths to the point before the injections, if memory serves me right there had been no claimed deaths for 6 months. Then they started their terror campaign laid out in detail in this document.
https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/op-covid-shield-national-covid-vaccine-campaign-plan
Look at the icon I use. We gave them the middle finger and they folded in a few months.
I'm not at home in Oz. Live in Asia. What's the significance of the pile of shirts?
Adverse reactions? Deaths? Keep giving the fascist Nazis in our government the middle finger!
We were all the people in construction, mining, etc who walked off the job. They don't care about deaths and adverse reactions. But when we stopped showing up to fix their shit they sure noticed.
Edit: we laid down all our shirts on the steps of parliament in WA so they had to walk over them on their way in. December 1, 2021.
Brilliant - that's the way to deal with these fascists - bring their world to lockdown.