18.9.02023

Contribution photo: DLR Lampoldshausen

Co-funded

“Co-funded” should not be confused with silenced! As nice and good as it is that some voluntary organizations receive support from the state, this support must be “politically neutral” and must not give the impression that politicians are using it to buy loyalty.

However, this must be taken into account from both sides and must not lead to organizations that receive support from the state muzzle themselves and avoid any uncomfortable statements or corresponding statements in advance.

This co-funded dilemma could be broken very easily by the state changing its tax legislation in favor of citizens and thereby giving them the chance and opportunities to promote voluntary organizations of their own accord.

But as it is, our state keeps tightening taxes and thereby disempowering its citizens - democracy works exactly the other way around!

Reception

Today I have to praise the Heilbronn-Franken Chamber of Commerce and Industry. This organized a “reception in the region” in Lampoldshausen. For me, the focus there was visiting the German Aerospace Center.

It wasn't my first visit to the DLR but this time it exceeded all my expectations. A very profound tour combined with a look behind the scenes. More than exciting and then also the tour of the new hydrogen production plants including a detour to the new thermal power plant.

Two experts were available to us, one for engine technology and the other for hydrogen production, which, among other things, is intended to pave the way for technology transfer from space to aviation and even further up to a possible hydrogen transformation strategy for the Heilbronn-Franconia region.

Schilder

While the rest of humanity can live on air and love, it's not quite so easy for us Germans. We can only exist if there are enough signs and regulations.

On today's drive to Lampoldshausen I was stuck in a traffic jam shortly after leaving the farm and therefore decided to use the motorway entrance in Untergruppenbach. And so I had the pleasure of covering this route three times today, because in the morning I took the meseno bus for the first part.

And so I was able to take a closer look at the route and admire the splendor of the signs that have now come into their own on this route. One cannot help but draw the following conclusion: it is not Germany if there are fewer than 100 signs per square kilometer.

What kind of signs these are, whether they make sense or whether they even have a very specific purpose, obviously doesn't matter at all - rather, the fact that you are supporting the most German of Germany's key industries. In addition to the printing of regulations and decrees, sign production will probably soon even come before automobiles and mechanical engineering.

Anyone who drives this route to Heilbronn may even notice that the signage is still incorrect after leaving the motorway: the “Neugereut” sign there is wrong and should actually be against a real sign after all these years be exchanged for “Neugreut”.

What will be learned from this? For us it doesn't matter what is on a sign or whether it makes any sense, the main thing is that there is a sign there. Otherwise we could run the risk of no longer being in Germany.

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Enjoy the silence

There was probably not a single car trip in 1990 where this song wasn't playing on the radio, across all stations from Hamburg to Stuttgart. Like I from Jason Kotke As I was able to find out, this song is still performed live covered by music groups today; As a listener back then, I still like the original best today. Enjoy the Silence was released on February 5, 1990 as a single by the band Depeche Mode.