What Irked You Today?

[Harry P.]

The tollways here are also a huge scam.

The concept of building the tollways was presented to residents this way: The new toll roads would be built, and drivers would be charged tolls to use them. Once enough tolls had been collected to pay the cost of their construction, they would revert to freeways.

That was exactly how the politicians sold the tollways to Illinois voters. They lied.

Do I really needy to add that the tollways were paid for decades ago, yet the toll booths are still going strong?

Has there ever been a "temporary" toll/tax/surcharge/fee? Of course not.

 

[mikemodeler]

The tollways here are also a huge scam.

The concept of building the tollways was presented to residents this way: The new toll roads would be built, and drivers would be charged tolls to use them. Once enough tolls had been collected to pay the cost of their construction, they would revert to freeways.

That was exactly how the politicians sold the tollways to Illinois voters. They lied.

Do I really needy to add that the tollways were paid for decades ago, yet the toll booths are still going strong?

Has there ever been a "temporary" toll/tax/surcharge/fee? Of course not.

 

And they are getting ready to repave a large portion of them after 20 years and of course, they are using federal road funds to do so because the tolls collected only cover "maintenance and operating costs", not actual construction.

I remember when the board of directors for the tollway got caught ordering $2,500 chairs for their new boardroom and it was uncovered that they hardly ever used the boardroom! They also had a couple of expensive helicopters to use for observation purposes and I think a couple of directors got caught using them for "taxi" service so the wouldn't have to get stuck in traffic on the tollways! Only in Illinois, where more ex-governors are also ex-prisoners!

 

[Tom Geiger]

It's the same in New Jersey. The original Garden State Parkway was paid for many years ago. The day to day maintenance of the road, as well as major improvements all come from the federal government.  The toll was a quarter back then... and they needed a raise. Why? It pretty much came out to be toll collectors salaries and benefits.. so essentially they told us that it cost more than a quarter to collect a quarter.  So it became 35 cents, then 50 cents and double that today. 

When there was pressure to change something, the bought into the Ezpass toll collection system.  The mortgaged installation of this system was more than the cost of the original roadway. And the term of the bonds guaranteed that the'd need to collect tolls for a very long time!

Shortly after that they decided to merge the three toll road authorities into one to save money. So the Garden State Parkway, NJ Turnpike and Atlantic City Expressway all became one entity.  Sounded fair.  But then the Turnpike went on a major expansion, which in all fairness they did a remarkable job in a decent time frame. So that will guarantee tolls to be collected on all three roads for eternity.

Edited August 3, 2015 by Tom Geiger

[GrumpyGrowly]

The Van Duzen went under ground, again

 

 

Edited August 21, 2015 by GrumpyGrowly

[Crazy Ed]

    Jonathan, Is that the 101 Bridge? It's been many many years ago but I used to Fish in the Eel River and didn't that drain into it?. If it's the River I think it is, in the 70's it didn't make the trip to the Eel several times then either. Is that a Eucalyptus Tree in the Smokie Sun Pic?

[Mark]

It's the same in New Jersey. The original Garden State Parkway was paid for many years ago. The day to day maintenance of the road, as well as major improvements all come from the federal government.  The toll was a quarter back then... and they needed a raise. Why? It pretty much came out to be toll collectors salaries and benefits.. so essentially they told us that it cost more than a quarter to collect a quarter.  So it became 35 cents, then 50 cents and double that today. 

When there was pressure to change something, the bought into the Ezpass toll collection system.  The mortgaged installation of this system was more than the cost of the original roadway. And the term of the bonds guaranteed that the'd need to collect tolls for a very long time!

Shortly after that they decided to merge the three toll road authorities into one to save money. So the Garden State Parkway, NJ Turnpike and Atlantic City Expressway all became one entity.  Sounded fair.  But then the Turnpike went on a major expansion, which in all fairness they did a remarkable job in a decent time frame. So that will guarantee tolls to be collected on all three roads for eternity.

Don't get me started on EZPass.  Count up all of the people in your state who are using it, figure each has $25 or so on account at any given time...then arrive at whatever that works out to...a rolling, ongoing, permanent, interest-free loan to the state.  Slip up though, buddy, and they'll nail you to the wall for all sorts of service charges.

[GrumpyGrowly]

 

. 

Edited August 21, 2015 by GrumpyGrowly

[Crazy Ed]

    Jonathan, Is that the 101 Bridge? It's been many many years ago but I used to Fish in the Eel River and didn't that drain into it?. If it's the River I think it is, in the 70's it didn't make the trip to the Eel several times then either. Is that a Eucalyptus Tree in the Smokie Sun Pic?

Yes Sir that is the 101 bridge and yes the VanDuzen drains to the Eel river then past Fernbridge and on out to the ocean.

Yes thats a filthy eucalyptus, pain in the rump. My mother says it smells like cat pee when she visits, seeds or nuts are hard like rocks, drops what look like live limbs and burns like a candle. 

    Pretty Country. As to the Tree if it's near your House you might want to trim it until it's the size of a Picnic Table base. As you mentioned those puppies BURN HOT. They were a large part of what made the Oakland Hills Fire so bad.

[Tom Geiger]

 

Don't get me started on EZPass.  Count up all of the people in your state who are using it, figure each has $25 or so on account at any given time...then arrive at whatever that works out to...a rolling, ongoing, permanent, interest-free loan to the state.  Slip up though, buddy, and they'll nail you to the wall for all sorts of service charges.

Yea, EZPass is something else! The accounts are held by the vendor, not the state, so the vendor is profiting from all that cash on account. They charge fees up front, into your account and subtract the tolls out of there.  You are underestimating a bit,  the bite they take from my checking account each time is $135.  We use over $100 a month in tolls! 

And any time they decide you have a violation, they subtract the "fine" from your account and you have to plead your case to get it back!  

[Mark]

I don't use EZPass, but handle a number of accounts at work.  All are charged to one credit card.  When I set them up, I was able to set the reimbursement amount.  I had the idea to set each one up with a different amount, so when I looked at the credit card statement I would know which accounts were being reimbursed.  After a month or so, they went ahead and changed all of them, most to the same amount. 

[GrumpyGrowly]

Edited August 21, 2015 by GrumpyGrowly

[Crazy Ed]

      I was living in Campbell then and watched it live on TV while Firefighters, Reporters and Locals ALL ran for their lives with none being sure which way to go. I had a Friend that Lived there then (Now in Way Northern Calif.) that lost nonreplaceable Antique Telescopes and Mounts. The entire event was almost surreal.

[GrumpyGrowly]

 

 

Edited August 21, 2015 by GrumpyGrowly

[Crazy Ed]

   The Eucalyptus Trees were in and of themselves a Major failed experiment that to this day Haunt California. Good to read your Mothers Friend and the Firefighter made it through it Ok.

[jbwelda]

wow you are quoting maxie romeo? nobody here has ever heard of him.

things might be looking up here, we just had him special guest after about 5 tries at sierra Nevada world music festival in Boonville a couple months ago.

jb

 

[detailstymied]

wow you are quoting maxie romeo? nobody here has ever heard of him.

....

jb

 

how do you know this?

[jbwelda]

>Remember the whole "hands up, don't shoot" story? Well, it turned out that eyewitnesses to the incident testified to the grand jury that it never happened.

do you have a source for that claim? a credible source, which leaves out faux news? and remember, courts and grand juries do not necessarily hear truth, they hear stories nuanced through lawyers, almost NEVER the real "truth". and so how do you know this "fact" and how do you judge this story valid and the others not? as I recall it there was a lot of back and forth on what really happened and I doubt the GJ heard a balanced account. for instance I believe the GJ heard that the officer in question asked the man to kindly remove himself from the middle of the street in a gentlemanly manner. I doubt very much it happened that way. that is just not the way the police operate in modern urban America and particularly not in areas like Ferguson Missouri...and if you think that is the way they operate then I submit that you have never lived there or anywhere close to there or experienced what it is like to fear those who are supposed to be protecting you yet refer to you as "Ni**er" on a routine basis and subject you to harassment just for trying to walk down the street (as you may recall at the time of the confrontation the officer did not and could not have known about the store incident a short while earlier and was in fact harassing this man for what he considered arrogant behavior for walking in the middle of the street).

 >The media made it up because the media wanted you to believe that's what happened. It was pure fabrication.

that is pure BS. why would they fabricate such a thing? to sell newspapers? to further prove their "agenda" that all police officers are wicked bad men who have a arrogant attitude and just shoot people of color for sport? again, what is your source that "the media" made up any such thing?

there is no "the media" it does not speak with one tongue. and I doubt very much any of that was fabrication. possibly "it" was told that story to begin with and that's what "it" reported. quite possibly that story was true but people thought better of it when they were confronted with the fact they have to live in the community and have to deal with the storm troopers after that particular storm passed. perhaps the true eyewitnesses were cowered into submission and did not testify. perhaps those people who actually witnessed it and did not have an obvious axe to grind are so marginalized that the grand jury doesnt even consider them viable. I doubt very VERY much that some "media" sat around and conspired to pull one over on the public which is exactly what you are implying.

as I recall there was ONE witness who claimed some such story (that no one ever said "hands up don't shoot" and that the officer acted properly in murdering the man in question) and she was believed even though she had an obvious axe to grind and had been criticized in the past as one big police apologist and that pretty much NO ONE who was actually there believed her or anything she has said...yet somehow she testified before the GJ and somehow they believed her and didn't even hear from the other side nor from those who pointed out how self serving her testimony was. but my memory may be fuzzy on that. what I DO know is that the press does not just make stuff up (Brian Williams notwithstanding).

so tell me harry, what exactly are your sources for what you claim above and why do you believe them and not other sources you obviously reject out of hand to believe the "official story" so unwaveringly?

next you are going to tell me you think this man made global warming stuff is all made up by "the media".

"the media" is not "liberal" if anything they are the mouthpiece for business and the established power structure. that's one reason why it has taken to now for any established respected media to actually report that not only is global warming 100% caused by modern life and specifically by our beloved internal combustion engine, but that it is accelerating at a pace much faster than ever realized or reported...they make their money via the oil industry, the tobacco industry, the pharmaceutical industry and they are not going to stab those people in the back unless the evidence is more than overwhelming.

the bottom line is that neither one of us believe what we read or hear from "the media", but for completely opposite reasons.

ever hear of Gary Webb? that is a very interesting case illustrating just exactly how "the media" treats one of their own when they do not toe the line and cross over into threatening their own self serving interests.

the water is getting hot and the frog isn't even noticing.

jb

 

this was merged into my prior post without me wanting it to be,

re: max romeo and and my surprise at seeing someone quote him when i would think no one here would know anything about him

>how do you know this?

I take it then you know of the artist?

name his most famous song and why it got so much notoriety. name one quite famous Jamaican producer who produced what many would consider his best material. other than Island Records, name one record label he released music on in Jamaica. when he sings "uptown babies don't cry" is he asking that someone take care of children in rich neighborhoods? what famous rock star was featured on one of his LPs but without his permission and what was the LP and how was it modified after the rock star raised a complaint about being featured on the cover of the LP without his prior knowledge. what is the name of the song that contained the line quoted above and name at least one other song recorded over the same rhythm?

not challenging you, but wondering the depth of your knowledge of one of my favorite artists of the 70s

jb

 

Edited August 5, 2015 by jbwelda

[Harry P.]

jb... i was referring to the testimony of several eyewitnesses as given at the grand jury hearing. They all testified that the guy's hands were never up, in fact he was charging at the officer with his head down... sort of like a charging bull. Forensics back up that description... bullet wound entrances, etc. The physical evidence and the eyewitness testimony given at the hearing support each other and contradict the "hands up, don't shoot" story that was initially claimed to have been the case by the guy's buddy, and subsequently picked up on and pushed by the media as "fact."

As far as global warming... the earth's climate has been undergoing drastic change for millions of years... long before man ever came along. When the earth supported dinosaurs, the planet had a tropical climate. Then along came the Ice Age.. some pretty radical "climate change" that had absolutely nothing to do with man or his affect on the climate. There was a pretty major cooling during the early middle ages. The earth's climate is constantly changing.

The whole "global warming" story is only a few decades old. In fact, in the '70s Newsweek had a cover story proclaiming the impending Ice Age! Guess they were a bit off in their prediction, huh? And we have only kept accurate, worldwide weather/climate data for a little more than 100 years... that's a nanosecond as far as the overall age of the Earth. Far too small a sample to take as "proof" of climate change, or "proof" that man is causing it. The idea that man's activity is causing the Earth to warm is at this point still a theory and a political position. Claiming that man is causing global climate change based on a tiny, tiny sample of data is simply not provable. Like I said, the Earth's climate has undergone dramatic, constant change for millions of years. Who is to say without any doubt that any current warming is definitely and specifically due to man... and not just another naturally occuring, ongoing cycle of climate change?

I don't deny that the Earth's climate is warming lately. What I disagree with is that it has been "proven" and is a "fact" that man is causing it. The fact is, we just don't know that at this point, because our data doesn't cover a statistically significant span of time.

And finally, as far as the media being biased... as long as media outlets are run by humans and humans decide what stories are to be reported, what stories are to be ignored, and what stories are to be "spun" to fit a particular political ideology, there will be bias. Everyone has a viewpoint, an opinion...a bias. Everyone. That includes news directors, newspaper editors, and bloggers. All media is biased to some extent... some more than others, some to the right, some to the left, some discreetly, some blatantly. To assume that the news we hear/see/read is 100% true and unbiased is completely naive.

[detailstymied]

....

not challenging you, but wondering the depth of your knowledge of one of my favorite artists of the 70s

jb

 

of course you are, in your own passive-aggressive way. i am challenging you to disclose how you know what everyone else knows or does not know. time to spill the beans, professor.

[Danno]

"not only is global warming 100% caused by modern life and specifically by our beloved internal combustion engine, but that it is accelerating at a pace much faster than ever realized or reported..."

 

That is not only wrong, but it is totally stupid.  "There is zero evidence that "global warming is 100% caused by modern life and specifically by . . . [the] internal combustion engine."  

Your statement is the kind of radical-agenda-driven drivel that keeps wacked-out 'causes' functioning.  And raking in donations.

Edited August 5, 2015 by Danno

[jbwelda]

ok danno once again the discrediting of the source and not the facts.

the ocean is predicted to rise TEN FEET in the next 50 years, that from legitimate, established, scientific study organizations. oceans have not risen 10 INCHES in centuries. its just coincidence they are doing so now. or is that all liberal media agenda too?

do you ever read? I mean besides the comic pages and the police newsletter or fifties hot rod magazines? some people will not be convinced of this until the water is lapping at the porch of their house. your stance is one of the best examples of the frog not realizing the water is coming to a boil that I have ever encountered.  I wonder what branch of science you are trained in to make such blanket assertions that it is all the figment of an overactive imagination to fill their financial coffers.

here is an article by that well known wacked out agenda driven publication, National Geographic. it is a very very conservative article. there are many more much more alarmist articles out there written by well known radical agenda people aka scientists. and while the PROOF absolute that it is caused by man and his machines is not really there, all signs point to that as a cause, in fact, THE cause.

http://ocean.nationalgeographic.com/ocean/critical-issues-sea-level-rise/

 

harry: "proof" is something that often comes too late in the game to do anything about it. that is what is happening now. and "proving" something is the fault of the most capital intensive industries in the world is something they fight tooth and nail to prevent.

 

> i am challenging you to disclose how you know what everyone else knows or does not know. time to spill the beans, professor.

you are now speaking of a genre of music to which I have pretty much devoted 40 years to learning about, promoting and writing about. I have posted basic reggae lyrics here from time to time with zero recognition of them by most if not all who respond. that makes me think very few here have a clue about such artists as max romeo, and the reason I was surprised when someone quotes him here, especially an American. someone from the uk I would believe it much more since reggae has been a part of their culture since the mass immigration of west Indians in the mid 20th century, but reggae never really made much of an impression here in the states outside the marley clan.

happen to know any of the answers to the questions I posed? just wondering because I would assume the person who posted the quote would know his background.

jb

 

[Danno]

JB.  Witless Protection is an appropriate place for you.

 

"do you ever read? I mean besides the comic pages and the police newsletter or fifties hot rod magazines? some people will not be convinced of this until the water is lapping at the porch of their house. your stance is one of the best examples of the frog not realizing the water is coming to a boil that I have ever encountered.  I wonder what branch of science you are trained in to make such blanket assertions that it is all the figment of an overactive imagination to fill their financial coffers."

 

Can you engage in any discourse without being snarky and insulting of those with whom you do not agree?  Your carpola deserves and will get no further comment from me.  You may be wildly misquided, but I do not insult you in such an inflammatory manner.  

 

 

[detailstymied]

...

happen to know any of the answers to the questions I posed? just wondering because I would assume the person who posted the quote would know his background.

jb

 

nope

[Gregg]

KNOCK IT OFF

 

[dieseldawg142]

.........

 

Edited May 11, 2018 by dieseldawg142