straightUp Loc: California

No mike - YOU need to get over me.

straightUp Loc: California

Yes, *some* of the "urban people" tend to leave trash and pollution in the rivers and streams and I support all the regulations that try to minimize that. But recreation is far from the biggest culprit.

Just because the pollution from agriculture isn't as obvious to the naked eye as a pile of beer cans and candy wrappers doesn't mean it isn't there or that it can't make people sick or even kill them.

When it comes to the actual quality of water being supplied to millions of Americans, agriculture has a much bigger impact. Those unsightly beer cans don't do the same thing to our drinking water that pesticides, fertilizers and animal waste does.

There's a dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico the size of New Jersey that's caused by the run-off from the Mississippi watershed. Most of the pollution in that run-off comes from agriculture, not recreation.

padremike Loc: Phenix City, Al

We, the empirical we, did exactly what you suggest when you told us "it rocks to be me." I recognize your later claim that you were joking yet when many of us read your comments we observe that prevalent attitude from beginning to end.

Rose42

Indeed they do.

straightUp Loc: California

I'm not sure what point you're making here, if there is one. You keep bringing up that quote like it's something stuck in your craw. So, I like who I am - is that such a crime? Don't you like who you are?


How does that make me any different than you? You don't think you have a prevalent attitude about progressives, liberals, "Trump-haters" or (what did you call them?) "environuts"?

I'm 58 mike... I've developed an attitude over the years just like you have and I'm probably too old to change. But just because my attitude doesn't align with yours doesn't mean I'm the only one that HAS an attitude. In fact, almost everyone on this site has a partisan attitude that annoys the participants on the other side. And I'm sure you have your side conversations with like-minded folks just like I do.

So, how about we drop the character assassinations and focus on the arguments?

padremike Loc: Phenix City, Al

Very interesting question you pose "don't you like yourself?" No, I don't. I'm a sinful man. We're not supposed to feel good about ourselves when we do wrong but we need to take care not to be overly scrupolus, that's dangerous. The idea that it's vitally important to like ourselves has been pushed far out of healthy proportions even to the degree that if we don't love ourselves we can't love others. Allow me to clarify and restate your question: "don't you like yourself?: No! But I do like, only capable with God's help, what I am seeking to become.

Raybe

If you want to say something you should show proof!

padremike Loc: Phenix City, Al

Raybe, when you wish to reply specifically targeted at another's comment, you must use the "quote reply" button so that your own comment is understandable in contex.

straightUp Loc: California

Here's what the NYT reports...
Research indicates that as many as 19 million Americans may become ill each year due to just the parasites, viruses and bacteria in drinking water. Certain types of cancer, such as breast and prostate cancer, have risen over the past 30 years, and research indicates they are likely tied to pollutants like those found in drinking water.
https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/08/business/energy-environment/08water.html

So who should I believe? The research or the opinion of some guy on the Internet?

What about the events? Do you not remember the children that died in Flint, Michigan from shitty water?

In 2013-14, a total of 42 drinking-water-associated outbreaks caused by infectious pathogens, chemicals or toxins (not including lead) were reported to the CDC from 19 states. These outbreaks led to at least 1,006 cases of illness, 124 hospitalizations and 13 deaths.

This was the situation right before Obama's Waters of the United States (WOTUS) was implemented, when we were relying on protections from earlier regulations going back to the 70's. But Trump's new "replacement" (which simply means regulations are replaced with no regulations) not only reverses the WOTUS Act but it takes away those previous protections as well. In this respect, it's very similar to Trump's attack on our worker's rights going all the way back to 1935.

With our water protections ripped away by a really stupid clown, we are going to lose the standards that have separated our nation from all those "shithole" countries in the Third World and if that's not enough to complete the transition, government researchers in departments like the EPA and NASA are being silenced by the Trump administration, thereby promoting a more polluted and ignorant population.

We will have to refer to research in more liberated nations like the U.K. where freedom is more than the lip service it is here. According to The Lancet, a medical journal based in the UK, research indicates that about 9 million people around the world die every year from water pollution. Of course, a lot of that is in the Third World where there are no regulations. I'm sure that number will increase when Trump successfully delivers America to the Third World, which seems to be his intention.

straightUp Loc: California

Yeah, I don't really buy into all that religious self-beating stuff, but that's just me. I am not without morals and I don't think you need religion to be a good person. I don't lie (much) I don't cheat, I don't steal. I have one basic rule... "Treat others as you would treat yourself" and one basic exception to that rule... "Republicans"... nah, just kidding... "other's that present a clear threat"... That's it. It's very simple guide based on humanity not religion.

All that being said... I have no problem with your adherence to a more religious guide. For some people religion works really well. I especially like the way you ended it... liking the person you are seeking to be.

Weewillynobeerspilly Loc: North central Texas

Did you pick all that human shit from the sidewalk in your state before you went all dumbass on red states and the water shed? should we cover dogs in that foul state of yours also? or is the human crap splayed everywhere across your state good enough for a counter?

I can guarantee that sidewalk sheds, into your water supply

your own backyard is a biohazard.....no throwing stones big fella.

The hypocrisy in you liberals knows no bounds...WOW!

padremike Loc: Phenix City, Al

I'm not into self flagellation either but I recognize my limitations and I cannot be who and what I want to be without driving help.

I'd already concluded you weren't too impressed with ,or needed that religious stuff, in your life. This is a common trait found amongst progressives, i think for obvious reasons.

It is what it is! (This is to be considered prophetic. It's a mighty good thing to know these days and practically everything else too.) 😁
.

straightUp Loc: California

First of all, the human sh*t on the sidewalks isn't as widespread as you wish it were. In fact, I still haven't seen any in the all the 46 years I've lived there. I only know it's there from the reports.
Secondly, the only reason why any of it is there at all is because of the Republicans in city councils that consistently vote against liberals on things like shelters and rent control. So you picked a really bad example to make your case.


Again, your fantasies don't match reality but if it makes you feel any better, the state does start to smell pretty bad when you drive through the valley where all the livestock is, but then again, I smell that whenever I drive through a red state.


OK... if you actually think the wash from sidewalks can even hold a candle to the massive shit trenches in the farmlands you're gravely mistaken.


Everyone's backyard is a biohazard willy, the difference is a matter of degree. Look, if you're trying to make this about CA vs the red states, you're wasting your time. CA is one of the highest producing agriculture states in the union AND home to more Republicans than ANY other state. Drive into the San Joaquin Valley and you're essentially IN a red state.

That being said, I am fully aware of the watershed problems in CA. Fortunately, the state also has a lot of mountains with ice packs on the very edge of the watersheds that supply drinking water to the population BEFORE it get's contaminated by the farms in the lowlands. So the problem for CA isn't quite as bad as it is for a state like Texas which for the past 10 years has had the nation's most polluted drinking water according to the EPA when it was still allowed to publish reports.

So if you want to get back at me ('cause ultimately, I know you want to) at least pick something real. Instead of these unrealistic images of shit-plastered streets, why not pick the sewage that drains from the cities? At least that's a significant cause of water pollution. Of course even then - it's not as bad because most of the major cities are on the coast so there is no downstream to speak of.

Water has been a problem in the west forever, which is why we have some of the most amazing feats of engineering to solve water problems such as the California Aqueduct... a water conduit that uses gravity to move water over 400 miles - AROUND the watershed.

The only reason why I suggested the Mississippi Watershed is because it's the largest one where I'm sure MOST of the farmers are and since THEY are the one's who are always fighting environmental regulations, I thought it would be a nice idea to let them have their way but to keep it contained in their own region so other people don't have to suffer from their self-centered decisions.


That's the most hypocritical thing I've heard all day ;)

straightUp Loc: California

The most obvious being a reverence for humanity.

amadjuster Loc: Texas Panhandle

I live in LA on the sidewalk!!