Recycling military material

In fiscal 2008, $2.2 billion worth of surplus property was sold by the government.  From brand new items to scrap metals, everything and anything you can think of was sold.

Why is this program important?  It simply returns money to the government for other programs.  Property that might otherwise be thrown away becomes a valuable resource.  This keeps material out of landfills and is a step in the recycling chain.  In fact, much of the property sold is scrap metals that are recycled.  Steel from Navy ships and spent ammunition brass are all valuable commodities.

Government Liquidation is the sole contractor for the Department of Defense to sell surplus property.  Almost all auctions are done on the Internet through the govliquidation.com website.

The property first goes through the Defense Logistics Agency's Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service.  There the property is evaluated to determine if it can be reused by the Government before being sold.  The property may be given to another military organization, other federal agency, or a state or local agency for use instead of being auctioned off.

If the property is of no further use to the Defense Department, then it is transferred to Government Liquidation (GL) for sale.  After receiving the property, GL will photograph the property and make it available on the Internet.  When the item is won by a bidder, a 10% buyer's premium is added.  This 10% is the fee that Government Liquidation gets for selling the item.  The rest of the money is returned to the government.
The billions of dollars every year that is recovered is money that the taxpayers do not have to pay every year. Local and state agencies receive equipment and supplies that they could otherwise not afford.  One popular use of surplus equipment is turning old military trucks into fire trucks.  They are rugged and dependable for off-road firefighting operations.

The Corvallis Fire Department has saved thousands of dollars by converting surplus military vehicles into wildland fire trucks.  One five ton truck built many years ago is still in service.

This program is a win win for everyone.  It is a win for the taxpayers, the Government, and local agencies.

At a Glance:

In fiscal year 2008, over 56,000 military units and organizations turned in over 3.5 million items to DLA Disposition Services.-DLA Website

In fiscal 2008, $2.2 billion worth of property was reutilized. Every dollar's worth of property reutilized is a tax dollar saved.-DLA Website

Government Liquidation http://www.govliquidation.com/

Defense Logistics Agency http://www.dla.mil/

Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service http://www.drms.dla.mil/

Craigslist Rants and Raves

Craigslist Rants and raves

Are you a Craigslist user?  Craigslist has taken over many facets of the printed newspaper classified ads.  Craigslist is free to everyone to post ads for items for sale, help wanted, personal notices, and real estate.  Some commercial use may incur a fee but if you are an average person wanting to get your message out, then Craigslist may be for you.

One of the more active parts of Craigslist is the Rants and Raves section, located in the personals area. Rants and Raves is organized by location, as is all of Craigslist.  After selecting your area you are taken to the opinions of anyone choosing to post on Craigslist in your area.

The Corvallis/Albany Rants and Raves section has a very lively discussion most of the time.  Most of the posts are negative against something someone is unhappy with.  For example, the current discussion, as I write this, involves the Oregon Trail card.  The Oregon Trail card is the way in which food stamp money is distributed now, instead of paper "stamps." 

A poster started the thread by saying, "Stopped at a convenience store for a snack and an overweight lady in front of me is buying food, a bottle of Mountain Dew and a 44 ounce fountain drink, which she then proceeds to pay using an Oregon Trail card -- but then pulls out cash to buy 3 or 4 scratch off tickets. I’ll be pissed if she wins. At least if she loses on all of them, the state will get back some of their money."

The poster is upset because they observed, what they thought was a waste of their money, or taxpayer's money since food assistance is paid for by taxes.  The follow up posts range from someone saying they don't want another thread on Oregon Trail Cards to not blaming the poor lady using the cards because she is influenced by the "food lobby."  The point of all of this is that everyone has an opinion.  Whether they right or wrong, Craigslist Rants and Raves is there for people to share them with everyone else.

The general theme is that of negativity but once in a while a rave does pop up.

A poster may be happy with the dinner they had the night before or some service that they receive and make a post about it.  One recent rave was about a person who was happy with their car service and posted the name of the business with a positive message attached.

The bulk of postings, by far, are politically charged rants about any subject from the President to the local city council.  Another favorite subject is the Corvallis Police Department.  Craigslist is an anonymous forum and posters take advantage of that.  They let loose and tell it like they see it, where they may not do that if they had to put a name on their opinions.

The political rants seem to go to the absolute extreme on either side.  And, usually, it does not take long for someone to be offended and the post disappears after being "flagged."

If enough of the Craigslist population does not agree with or like one of the posts, a process is in place to remove the offending post.  A post may be "flagged" by clicking on a link in the upper right hand corner of the page.  Once enough people "flag" the offending post, it is deleted from the site.  This provides a check against posts that may be offensive or contain information that is objectionable to the Craiglist community without Craigslist having to have someone to police the posts.  Flagging is also abused to get rid of a post that someone simply does not like or agree with.

Craigslist is a valuable resource to the community.  It provides an easy, cheap alternative to posting a classified ad in the newspaper.  It also provides a community forum to discuss issues anonymously.



At a Glance:

Best Of

Some of the best posts on Craig's List are located at the Best of Craig's List.
What is it?


Craig's list is a free place to post classified and personal ads and to post your rants and raves about life.

Where?  

http://www.craigslist.org/

Cautions


As with all Internet venues be careful about what you post and about leaving personal information on Craig's List.  If you place a classified ad often times Internet scammers will send you email trying to get you to provide personal information.  With the rants and raves section, all information is hidden but you may get an email from someone who does not like what you post.  You may also feel the need to email someone who has posted something you do not like.  DO NOT reply to a post without careful consideration.  You will be giving away your email address and personal information in the process and lose your anonymity.

Mercedes

You may have seen Mercedes following Linn Benton student Michael Carey around campus.  She is is his constant companion.  Mercedes is about two feet tall with chocolate brown hair and weighs about fifty pounds.  Mercedes is Michael's Chocolate Lab therapy dog. 

Michael has seizures and Mercedes is there to comfort and help him through those seizures.  According to Michael, Mercedes is always close and will let him know when he is about to have a seizure.  She snuggles up close to him during a seizure to help comfort him.

Some therapy animals, like seeing eye dogs, need to be left alone so that they can keep their attention focused on their job.  Mercedes is a little different in that, with Michael's permission, you can say hi and pet her.  She is very friendly and loves the attention.  When I saw the two in the student union, Michael was trying to get her to play with her favorite toy, a stuffed bone.  She was having nothing to do with it and kept looking at me.  I asked Michael if I could pet her and she was happy for the attention.

Mercedes is Michael's second dog.  The first dog he had became ill and had to be retired.

According to epilepsy.com, not all dogs actually alert their person before a seizure starts.  They are there to comfort the person once the seizure has begun and directly after the seizure ends.

Not only is Mercedes an early warning system but she helps to lessen the severity of the seizures that Michael has through her attention and comfort.

Getting a therapy dog is not an easy nor inexpensive process.  A large commitment is expected of the person getting the dog.  The person must have the financial means to support the dog and the ability to take care of the dog.  Food, veterinary bills, and daily upkeep are all required of the owner.

Mercedes is an important tool for Michael to have at his disposal.  While she is there to alert and comfort Michael in the event of a seizure, she is his constant companion and provides immeasurable companionship and love with only the expectation of love in return.  Dogs are a gift to man.

At a Glance:
10% of dogs can predict a seizure

Time to train: 6 months to two years

Cost: $10,000 to $25,000

More information:

Epilepsy.com

Linn-Benton Therapy Animal Policy

Therapy Dogs