Recent Comments

1. almost 12 years ago on Prickly City

   Add a few more things:

   The Federal Aviation Administration, which created the national air traffic control system— coast-to-coast radar coverage, the air traffic controllers who maintain separation of aircraft, keep the high volume of air traffic flowing in and out of our nation’s airports, provide licensing and training standards for pilots, aviation mechanics, aviation manufacturers, etc.

   The Global Positioning Satellite system, created under Government contracts and maintained by the government

   The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which investigates accidents and incidents involving aircraft, trains, trucks, and other vehicles and which puts out safety directives, recalls of defective equipment, and administers safety standards.

   The Federal Communications Commission, which assigns broadcast frequencies and administers the broadcast media.

   The National institute of Standards and Technology, which provides specifications and standards used by much of the technical and scientific community nation-wide and world-wide, and provides forums and serves as a clearinghouse for dissemination of technical information.

   The federal and military standards and specifications, which provides documentation for standardization of everything from consumer products like bread, paper and clothing to technical documentation for quality conformance inspection to statistical analysis of data.

   …Such a lot of “nothing” that our government makes and does, that’s done so well and so without fanfare, that it’s largely invisible…allowing cartoonists to poke fun of it….

2. almost 12 years ago on Prickly City

   Things the federal government has made:

   The Panama Canal.The interstate highway system (coast-to-coast freeways)The Tennessee Valley AuthorityGrand Coulee damHoover damFederal rural electrification program (bringing electricity to rural communities that commercial utilities couldn’t/wouldn’t serve)Pure Food and Drug Act (creating standards for safety and purity of foods and drugs, standards of identity defining foods, inspection requirements to maintain safety, data collection to identify and locate problems, etc.)The USDA inspection program for meats, fish, fruits and vegetables (virtually all meat inspected for wholesomeness; if you want to know what things were like before this, read Sinclair Lewis’ “The Jungle”)The Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), which has enabled law enforcement to bring many very, very dangerous people to justiceAutomated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS), which has helped bring many very, very dangerous people to justiceThe Center for Disease Control, which has helped identify and prevent many public health issuesThe office of the Surgeon General, which was instrumental in identifying the health problems associated with cigarette smoking, among other things

   I could go on and on. The canard that "the US Government doesn’t make/do anything useful does a grave disservice to the many, many creative, dedicated and mostly anonymous people who do a great deal to keep us safe and make our lives better ( and no, I am not one of them; nor is anyone in my family).

   There are places where the government doesn’t make/do anything. Somalia comes to mind; personally, I’m grateful for the things our government does do, and for the many things it has made.

3. about 16 years ago on Prickly City

   I live in Lomita, CA, and we’ve made the big time! Thank you, Prickly City! Please please please please please just mention the Lomita Railroad Museum and it will be great!