"straying topicality?" I'm not sure what this means, but I think you might be saying that the fight for freedom doesn't include the right to free and open elections, and that this isn't a salient point. I certainly hope that isn't what you are saying here.

Whether an industry kills or harms people, animals, the ecology, is not the issue.
Our comparison aims to show that just because an activity or business creates jobs does not mean it's 'good for' whatever.

When the plastic bottle and can makers won out over the glass container folk they cited all kinds of new jobs and though fuel costs did go down, sizes and consumption went up so now the fuel cost card is moot and we are left with tons more 'throw away' items, litter, compromised taste, and jobs, too!

Remember picking up two cent bottles and cashing them in?
That was a first job for many of us.

And our flip flop on the "Kudos to TV" for the single stream recycling?
We just flopped - seems the recycling is just for what residents separate into large clear bags - not what goes into the 40 gallon cans at the mail stations- while it would be a simple no-brainer to place a paper-only receptacle there, it's not the case.

Lastly, as far as TH's reaction to our reference to voting and freedom, you are correct and we agree that the right to campaign and vote are most necessary, and we have traveled throughout the mid Atlantic to spread those messages to voters and potential voters who might otherwise miss out, but we prefer means that are less impactful to our respectful environment.

Vote early

l and L

But like it or not things that are 'good for' or 'not good for' are the invention of how our society and world have evolved. You go to a fast food place and your expectation is to be served food in disposable wrappers. I doubt that paper gets recycled. When I was a kid we went to the snack shop for a burger and it was served on a plate. McDonalds came along and mass marketed food served on paper. Society accepted it and here we are billions of burgers - and billions of burger wrappers - later.

So is direct mail good or bad? A company sends out 100,000 direct mail ads. They get a 1% response and sell 1000 items. They stay in business. They ship them out UPS, the UPS driver keeps his job. They deposit the funds, the bank stays open. The bank sends out statements, the post office stays afloat. The employees, the UPS driver, the bank teller, and the postal employee all go out shopping, more jobs. But still 99,000 pieces of that mailing are in the trash. Oh wait, here comes the trash man in his new car!