Ozy and Millie by Dana Simpson for March 14, 2014

It looks like an ex-Congressman after last year’s Federal Election and Hog Roast.

Plorange – its a place.

What do you suppose it does?

I believe “month” is another one of those words.

There is a strip on GoComics called, ‘Rhymes With Orange’

“Purple” is another color, and you can’t rhyme that either.

Yes you can rhyme it.An old song from back in the day.“THE NAME GAME” 1964 Shirley EllisOrange Orange Bo Orange Fee Fi Fo Forange so to go but you get the point. With THE NAME GAME anything can rhyme.

I managed to rhyme with “month” onthe.

The rhyme for orange is door hinge.

The real issue is not whether the conservatives, liberals, republicans, democrats, or whomever is most friendly to the environment, but that the general public still does not give a rip except when it is their own immediate environment that is threatened or that it is their own pocket that is being emptied to pay for improvements. Everyone wants clean water, but no one wants to pay for it especially if it means reducing funding for a cause nearer and dearer to their hearts. My area has a major issue with combined sewer overflows (CSO-sewers that handle storm water as well as waste that dump directly into the nearest river after a heavy rain overwhelms treatment capacity. They were built as a cost saving measure years ago to “protect” the taxpayers and users from the true cost of the system. Now that the systems have to be fixed, there is minimal federal funding for the federally mandated improvement projects which would help the environment because multiple other “needs” are consuming massive amounts of tax dollars. I caught all sorts of grief when I proposed and got my fellow town council members to institute a storm sewer utility to meet the federal NPDES MS4 phase II standards which affected us. These standards primarily affect communities because it is easier to fine them for noncompliance than it is to go after all the farmers who may still be using poor soil conservation and crop management practices, CAFOs (Confined Animal Feeding Operations-factory farms), and others who contribute more to the degradation of surface water than the municipalities. Until the people of this country can decide that environmental quality is worth paying for, it will always play second fiddle to the more popular programs that address wants, not needs. As Lincoln said-“too many pigs, not enough teats.”

Keep working on it Llew.

To illustrate previous point-the tragic gas explosion in Harlem is now being blamed (correctly or incorrectly) by politicians as due to a cast iron gas main that is over a hundred years old. The cry is that our infrastructure is crumbling and Washington should give us billions to fix the problem. Excuse me Rep. Rangel and Mayor Diblasio, but why don’t you look at the rates charged by Con Ed and why Con Ed, along with the city have not done something about this? Also before affixing blame and laying claim to federal dollars, don’t you think it would be wise to make sure that this disaster wasn’t caused by a tenant who didn’t know how to correctly make a gas connection or that it wasn’t a case of criminal intent such as the incident in Indianapolis a while back where an entire neighborhood was destroyed supposedly (it hasn’t gone to trial yet) by a homeowner and partners seeking to evade a financial crisis from gambling debts? Clear case of the NOOMPs (Not Out Of My Pocket/Purse). Find a situation, make it a crisis, collect the money, don’t apologize (or return the money) after the situation is found to not be what it was painted to be-think Silicone breast implants, the vaccination/autism linkage.

My apologies to all fans of Dana’s excellent work on this site. We must remember that is why we go to this site, for entertainment and respite from the daily stressors, not for heated political discourse better kept to other arenas.