MA senate elections, April 2013

Looks like there is a consensus amongst the candidates for MA senator (April 2013 election), that enhancing border security should be a priority for the USA. Many years ago, I reported re the need to be able to determine source of attack if there is an attack with smuggled WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction). This was because the lack of border security had alerted me to the possibility that WMDs smuggled across the border into the USA, are a danger insufficiently guarded against, which may be because companies that specialize in defending against missiles and air-delivered bombs, are overly influential in Washington DC.

Generally the candidates seem to believe that the key to USA national economic salvation, is the import-replacement in the energy sector (many years ago, I wrote my first words regarding the importance of such to the national economy). But Mr. Winslow opposes what he characterizes as borrowing billions of dollars from China to subsidize windfarms.

My reaction: apparently the USA govt leaders need to improve the precision of its understanding regarding how much benefit or harm the US economy receives when imports are replaced with subsidized sources of domestic energy. There are multiplier effects when the producers of the energy spend the money they are paid.

And also, the USA govt needs to improve its understanding regarding how foreign governments subsidizing their own domestic industries, negatively effects the US economic situation.

Given that the US subsidizes domestic energy, naturally foreign companies may do likewise. Apparently, foreign nations are stiffly tariffing goods imported from the USA, while the USA is not tariffing those goods when imported from those foreign nations.

It's almost surprising that, whereas the media and the leaders have given us the impression that we have now entered the glorious new era of free trade, in fact: national governments continue to implement official measures that disadvantage imports; national governments continue to implement unofficial actions that disadvantage imports; private sectors of foreign nations implement official and unofficial actions that disadvantage imports; consumers in some nations are more prejudiced against imports than others; the 'free trade' spoken of, has been largely unilateral, meaning, the USA not disadvantaging imports into the USA, while foreign nations disadvantage imports from the USA sold in those foreign nations.

As for the borrowing Chinese billions to subsidize wind farms, my latest info tells me that of late borrowing from the Chinese has been replaced by the government borrowing newly created money from itself.

Aside from the issues raised by the politicians: if leaders cannot do something simple like bringing people clean healthy water for swimming in the pools, then how can they be expected to do more difficult things? Reportedly, recently a European swimming team refused to swim in a USA pool, because they used Chlorine in their attempt to purify the USA swimming pool water, the team would not swim until the pool switched to Ozone, the pool was able to quickly switch to Ozone, & then the Euro team swam in it. There have been reports regarding the negative health effects of Chlorine, and the superiority of Ozone when used to purify swimming pool water. Yet, although thousands of European swimming pools use water purified by the Ozone process, almost all the pools in the USA use Chlorine. If swimming becomes 10% more expensive because of the switch to Ozone, I say, it's penny-wise & pound-foolish to economize so strictly with regards to how swimming pool water is purified-- it would be wiser to economize elsewhere in the budget & enjoy the superior swimming pool water. Swimming pool water passes directly through the skin in large amounts, bypassing body-organs used to process incoming water. I quote:

Study Suggests Chlorine Could Cause Cancer...A study published in the November 2006 issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology has reported a link between exposure to chlorinated water and an increased risk of bladder cancer. According to researchers, ingestion of, and bathing, showering, and swimming in chlorinated water can all lead to increased incidence of cancer...(THMs, or trihalomethanes, are chemical by-products of chlorination.)  Researchers discovered that these chemicals invade the human body through ingestion of water, by inhalation and dermal absorption.  They ...believe that THM that is absorbed or inhaled into the body does not go through a detoxification process in the liver, which may make the chemical much more dangerous...The results of that study showed that...swimming in chlorinated pools raised the risk by 57 percent...
  -- http://www.friendsofwater.com/No_Chlorine.html

There are reports that drinking large amounts of water & eating sea salt counteract the chlorinated water effect; some say lemon juice neutralizes chlorine. There may be remedies to the Chlorine effect. Nevertheless, the end result is that the nutrients absorbed by the body are diverted to dealing with the chlorine problem, the immune system is diverted to problems created by the chlorine; human time and energy is diverted to the problem; and the risks if diluted remain also.

If the US is controlled by chlorine producers, the solution could be to allow the chlorine producers to install and operate the ozone processes. Looking at the history of swimming pool water purification in nations that now use processes superior to chlorine could provide clues re how a transition to methods superior to chlorine can be achieved, without terrifying sinister chlorine-fanatics causing problems.

(I admit to being with regards to chlorine expertise, merely an amateur, who is influenced by persons who are not officially credentialed).