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Multi-Party United States

April 29, 2005

It’s about time we abandon the two party system here in the United States. Republicans and Democrats are vying to be too much to too many people. It’s no longer a fight between small government and big government. It’s a fight between Republicans who want to use big government to control morality, Republicans who want to little government, Democrats who want government to support any form of social program, and Democrats who want all the government with no form of moral background to support or deny it. Each new issue is co-opted by each party in its own way, while other important issues are left behind.

How about a new multi-party system? Greens, Libertarians, Christian-Right, Liberal-Christian-Left, and Socialists? Ok, so party names suck… but you get the picture.

Posted by paul at 05:11 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

Fire in Ypsi

April 26, 2005

Reading Arbor Update, I found this detailed account of a recent fire in Ypsilanti. I was inspired to write my own little analysis of the background events. I do not purport to be an expert on Ypsi’s Fire Department, or its Water Dept., but I think there’s room for me to comment based on some of the research I’ve done.

Problem: The fire department had a long response time.
Answer: The dept. is understaffed and over-extended. The City of Holland Fire Dept. serves 39,000 people (give or take a few). Ypsilanti’s serves around 45,000, according to their website. Holland has 3 stations, two of which are manned full time. Ypsi has 1 (ONE) station, also manned full time. From what I can tell, Ypsi has one truck, two engines, a rescue and a support van. Ypsi is also a full time only department, which means that off-duty personal are called back on big fire calls. Holland, on the other hand, has one truck, three engines, one reserve engine, one medium rescue, one light rescue, a brush truck, and a tiny boat. Holland’s two full time stations are complimented by a large amount of paid on-call members, who only respond to fires and big events. I’d imagine, since Pittsfield Twp. was first on scene to Ypsi, that Ypsi has an automatic aid agreement set up to save its ass. It looks like that worked - but is that safe?

Problem: First fire hydrant attached to did not flow.
Answer: Inadequate maintanence, poor communication, poor fire department operation… all could be problems. Over winter, some fire hydrants are prone to freeze and crack, leaving them out of service. Unless the Water Dept. goes around and checks all hydrants, this problem may not be found in time to correct before a fire. A better maintanence program may be of merit. Also, the water and fire departments should talk together more often, sharing information about out-of-service hydrants. A good system should be worked out to inform the fire dept. which hydrants are unusable, even as simple as duct-taping a trash bag over the bad hyrdant (we started doing that in Holland). And, just to say… the firefighters should flow the hydrant quickly before attaching hose, just to make sure it works.

This is a short analysis, I’m sure there are many more issues involved. Nonetheless, there seems to be quite a few things lacking in Ypsi, and all those people saying, “move to Ypsi, it’s cheap, and cool,” better watch their butts.

Posted by paul at 08:10 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Hoegaarden

April 23, 2005

The first time I visited the Netherlands, I had the opportunity to taste a wonderful beer, Hoegaarden, which is made in Belgium. I quickly became a fan, and on my return to Europe in 2003, I partook in this wonderful treat again and again. Coming back to the U.S., however, I rarely saw it offered in bars or stores. That has been changing recently, and I’m beginning to find this beer in numerous stores in Ann Arbor. In my quest for information, I found their website.

It turns out that Hoegaarden is owned by a massive beverage corporation, the result of a recent merge in companies. In my mind, that explains their new presence in the U.S.

This company intruiges me. I bet few of my readers have heard of them - InBev. But I’m sure you’ve heard, or had, their beers. Here are a few brands they own:


The company is headquartered in Belgium. Kinda debunks the thought that Labatt is a truly Canadian beer. Actually, Labatt is only listed in their local offerings section (Only Stella, Beck’s, Hoegaarden and Leffe are offered globaly). InBev, according to their website, is currently the largest beer producer in the world, by volume. Big stuff.

Of course, they are not the only beverage provider in the U.S. (and the world), that is huge in the U.S. market but is not a U.S. company. Miller is now a South African company, and they have a massive world presence.

The beer industry in general is quite interesting - worthy of more research. I’d love to spend time researching the makeup of the global alcohol industry, and not just drinking the products either.

Posted by paul at 11:17 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Weird Happenings

Some explain to me why I cannot access the Holland Sentinel online from home. When I take my laptop to school, it works fine, but here at home, I cannot access it. I miss my local news. Hmmm

Posted by paul at 11:55 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Tears from Heaven

April 22, 2005

Maybe this is a stretch… but I like the thought.

Bush cancels Earth Day visit due to rain. Maybe it’s the Lord’s tears falling from Heaven because He is so upset about the way Bush is treating the creation.

Posted by paul at 01:15 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

My School Work

April 21, 2005

I put this together a while ago, but forgot to post the link here.

Check out My Work.

Posted by paul at 04:40 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Consumption = Happiness?

April 17, 2005

As I near the end of the last term of my college career (except for the possible PhD or JD in the future), I’ve begun reflecting on many of my recent classes.

Much of my semester has been split in some ways. My sustainable development class has placed a large focus on question current development patterns - is our consumptive standard of life sustainable? The class has helped me flesh out these issues on my own. The U.S., and Western culture in general, is built on consumption. Saving money in the U.S. is seen as anti-American. In fact, I’ve read speaches from U.S. Senators that tell people to look out for anti-American, near-terrorist neighbors who do tend to save their money instead of promote economic growth. And that’s just a start when considering the issues this class brought up.

I am also taking an economic development planning class, which primarily focuses on the economic growth issue - that communities need to expand economically in order to remain desirable and successful. Thus, a large split has occured in my thinking.

I believe we need a massive paradigm shift away from favoring consumption, and move to improve social equity, the environment and the economy equally. How this will happen… that’s another issue.

Reading this blurb on Instapundit this evening, I feel much more aware consumption-based tint most Americans place on their analysis of other countires, much more aware than I would have felt at the beginning of the semester.

Glenn (the author of Instapundit), links to an article that says Scandanavian countries aren’t near as well off as most people think. This analysis is based on the fact that their economy has not grown as much as the U.S., and that the citizens of these countries have much less disposable income. Therefore, the Scandanavians are worse off than Americans.

I find fault in that argument. It seems to me that most Scandanavians are quite happy with their lack of disposable income, since they get more vacation and recreation time… My analysis could go much deeper, all I intend to say here is that economic growth should not be the only determination for whether or not a country is “doing well”.

Posted by paul at 09:01 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Life Update

It’s been a while since I’ve written. I’ve been spending much of my time on school, work and talking to my girlfriend.

And, speaking of Christa, I’ve decided to move to Oklahoma City in late May, early June. I do not yet have a job, but I have a few leads and some people looking for jobs for me down there (a minister at the Reformed church in OKC, and a national engineering recruiting company).

Right now, the only thing bothering me about the move is the logistics… finding a place to live, how I’m going to get my stuff down there, and what stuff do I take?

Besides that, I’m extremely excited to do something new. People may say to me “but you keep talking about Holland, why aren’t you staying?” Well, I know this website isn’t about my feelings, but I have to say this. Love trumps all. I’d rather move to be with the one I love than stay in Holland and worry about not being with her or, even worse, not have her has my girlfriend at all.

Also, Holland is not the only city to live in. I know, I said it. Holland is magnificant, but there are other places that are just as nice, and I’m willing to go out and find them. And, as long as I’m with Christa, any place will make me happy.

Posted by paul at 11:21 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Told ya so!

Well, I can’t say that I’m happy that the new River Ave. bridge is going to cost more than previously thought, but I am happy that people are revisiting that idiotic idea to buld a temporary bridge at a cost of over $2 million. That cost would be much better applied to the permanent bridge than to a temporary bridge. The business lost by one year of a bridge closing is not going to equal $2 million. We have other roads to bypass the bridge…

Check out the Holland Sentinel article.

Posted by paul at 11:06 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Politically Correct Crap

April 01, 2005

Another rant-filled post…

I’m sick of people being so incredibly sensitive. An article on CNN.com about the Governor of Colorado made upset me today. To quote the article, he said “the natives are getting restless.” Who hasn’t said that cliche? I know I have. People use it all the time… and, in this case, it makes sense that he said it, b/c the audience was upset at the technical difficulties during the conference he was holding. The only problem - the conference was about Indian gaming. Now, one tribal representative said she laughed along with him… while another one took it as a slam against all Native Americans.

Come on people… loosen up. Seriously, it’s a phrase that is often used. Geez.

Another thing that irks me. One Christmas day, a friend used this phrase on her AOL IM away message: Merry Christmas, to whom it is appropriate. On Easter day, she wrote: Happy Easter, to whom it is appropriate. How nice of her to be so politically correct, but, why should she have to make her Christianity so bland? It makes it seem like she’s sorry that she’s a Christan and is apologizing to people who read her away message. For me, I’d be happy to proclaim my faith. Shouldn’t it be that way?

Political correctness has gone too far. Maybe that’s why South Park and Chappelle’s Show get so many viewers, for their irreverance. They certainly deserve all the praise they get for analyzing current issues.

Posted by paul at 12:23 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

Pie Throwing

Pat Buchanan got a faceload of salad dressing at Western Michigan University recently. While I may not care about Pat and his views, the incident disturbs me.

First, it adds more public disgrace to Western Michigan University. The riots last year and other various incidents have not helped the school, and now this. Granted, the student was actually a KVCC student, but it was at a WMU event.

Secondly, why should he be any less able to proclaim his views than other people? Does free speech only apply to liberals? I’m making a broad statement here, I admit, but I don’t see any conservatives throwing pie, salad dressing or shoes at liberal speakers. Buchanan, and Kristol joing a club that includes Ann Coulter and Bill Gates, to name a couple more… This whole events saddens me.

Free speech is free speech. Conservatives like to regulate it in some ways (recent FCC bullshit), liberals in others (pie throwing). We are all guilty of it… I just wish some people would be more mature about it.

Posted by paul at 11:44 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack