the alberton papers

Name:
Location: alberton, mt., United States

I am a retired steamfitter and vocational instructor, Current member, alberton town council, having served two terms previously, several years ago. Resident of alberton almost 28 years. I am fiscally conservative and socially progressive, a free thinker and an advocate of good, responsive, honest government.

Monday, September 25, 2006

scoundrels part one

The Alberton Papers, Vol II, #16
By Dick Darne 9-25-06
"No scoundrel is so stupid as to not find a reason for his vile conduct"
S. Gawain
Today’s lesson will be on famous scoundrels in history. Most successful scoundrels go down in history with bridges, schools and hospitals named after them. Since a short time ago it was fashionable to bash all things french, we will start with Pierre and Ir’en’ee duPont. (Yes, that is how it is spelled).
Lets go back to the thrilling , early days of autos, about 1921, when one of the big problems facing the fledgling auto manufacturer General Motors was pre-ignition, or "knocking". If they could solve this, they could raise the compression and obtain better performance. The best brains worked hard and came up with some viable solutions. Alcohol. Shades of Willie Nelson. Plain old ethanol, raises the "octane", prevents "knocking", allows better performance. Easily available and cheap.
Enter the duPonts. In those days, they owned about a third of GM. "Sacre-bleu , how we gonna make any money this way?" It couldn’t be patented, any farmer could make it, so back to the drawing board. Back about 1854, the German scientists discovered tetraethyl lead. No use at the time, but they noted that it was very toxic, like, dip your finger in it and go into convulsions. It did work as an antiknock additive but best of all, it could be patented. Market cornered. Big profits. First production was in New Jersey, where most of the toxic waste dumps are. New York got all the lawyers ,( but N.J. had first pick.) Workers got sick some died. The chief researcher, Thomas Midgely, who also gave us the hole in the ozone layer, almost died from lead poisoning. New York banned the stuff. It was sold everywhere else until the NY state legislature was finally bought off. Then came the ads: "Ethel is back".
The stuff was sold for decades, until overwhelming evidence of it’s harm forced it off the market. In the first world, that is. It is still sold in the third world countries. Funny, air knows no boundaries. dd

Sunday, September 17, 2006

plunder part 2

The Alberton Papers, Vol II, #15
By Dick Darne 9-17-06
Plunder, part 2.
"Every increased possession loads us with new weariness"
John Ruskin
A true story, but the names have been changed to protect life, limb and well being. Last week a friend of mine needed a carburetor for his lawn tractor. We will call him John. Always eager to help a fellow connoisseur of plunder, another friend (we will call him Tom) offered John a whole tractor. I then offered another one with a good engine and a couple good attachments. "While were at it, you may as well take these two old generators and some of this other machinery. I’ll even use my trailer and help you load and unload" said I in the true spirit of helping my fellow man. Thus began the journey down the road of good intentions. Even though this load of plunder would eventually enrichen the life of his wife, we thought it best to keep it secret until the full fruition of this project was realized. Nothing beats a surprise to enhance marital bliss. Unless it’s getting busted. Unfortunately a passerby inadvertently "ratted us out", spoiling the surprise, dampering marital bliss and placing me in harms way as described in "plunder part one". Fortunately John’s wife (we will call her Patricia) has a wonderful sense of humor and also had the wisdom to recognize all the potential benefits of our actions. Not everyone can be this fortunate, so I would advise plunder wannabes to leave serious activities like this to us "old hands" and "don’t try this at home". Come to think about it, I haven’t seen John in a week now......... dd

Monday, September 11, 2006

history of work, part one

The Alberton Papers, Vol II, # 14
By Dick Darne 9-11-06
History of work, part one.
"Nothing is really work unless you would rather be doing something else"
James M. Barrie
In the early days of mankind, from the time there were two or more, one usually did more work than the other. After three or more, or somewhere thereabouts, one of them did no work at all. When persuasion failed, slavery began. Our learned history tells of the days of smiting one’s enemies, begatting more people and enslaving ones fellow man, but at this time there were several advanced civilizations throughout the planet founded on slavery. After all, why do it yourself if you can get someone else to do it for you. Even our founding fathers believed that only a man freed from labor would have time to reflect on governing. During the time of the enslavement of our african- american citizen’s ancestors, our great white fathers decided that we should care for three- fifths of their souls, so began the saving of their souls with the protestant ethic: "hard work is a virtue unto itself", expanded into: "God made the white man to be in charge, your job is to toil for "ol Massa".
After overt slavery was exchanged for more subtle forms such as wage slavery, it was still necessary to convince white people to work hard. While good wages and working conditions go a long way, GWF stuck to the same old theme. The mill towns funded a church and provided the best preacher money could buy. "God made Mr. Jones to be in charge and handle all the money, your job is to toil for Massa Jones". (Check out this scene in the movie, "Norma Rae") . One of our great american thinkers , Emerson, schooled at harvard divinity school, recognized this, read "Compensation" (available at your local library).
Wage slavery is alive and well in the 21st century. dd

Monday, September 04, 2006

The Alberton Papers Vol.II, #13
By Dick Darne, Labor Day, 2006
"Without Unions, we’d all be going to work at seven" (years old, that is)
From a poster at the labor temple.
This Labor Day, as I sit in my house,(made possible by union wages) writing on my computer, (also from union wages), enjoying life, (made possible by my union pension) enjoying reasonably good health,( thanks to my union health care ) I can reflect on some things that we all tend to take for granted. It wasn’t too long ago when there was no such thing as "have a nice weekend".
What remained of a weekend, if anything, was needed to rest. Eight hour day, forget it. You worked ‘till the sun set. Had there been better lighting available, maybe all night. Public schools, thank organized labor. Retirement and healthcare, unions again. Not only did the unions improve their lot, but it improved the wages and conditions of those who did not belong. There are some out there who believe that everything they have is solely due to their hard work, good character and the benevolence of their employer. (Dream on Mr. Block.) Most of labor history is not taught in schools, but it is out there. We, of organized labor, have our flaws, sometimes we miss the big picture and yes, sometimes we fail to live up to our ideals, but I hope we can keep the dream alive. The one small part of the oath that I took and administered to many new members, that I remember well and recommend is: " Extend a helping hand to all branches of honorable toil". Let’s all do that. dd