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~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

The Gulf Coast


Yesterday, I visited Caminada Bay in Grand Isle, Louisiana — one of the first places to feel the devastation wrought by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. While I was here, at Camerdelle’s Live Bait shop, I met with a group of local residents and small business owners.

Folks like Floyd Lasseigne, a fourth-generation oyster fisherman. This is the time of year when he ordinarily earns a lot of his income. But his oyster bed has likely been destroyed by the spill.

Terry Vegas had a similar story. He quit the 8th grade to become a shrimper with his grandfather. Ever since, he’s earned his living during shrimping season — working long, grueling days so that he could earn enough money to support himself year-round. But today, the waters where he has worked are closed. And every day, as the spill worsens, he loses hope that he will be able to return to the life he built.

Here, this spill has not just damaged livelihoods. It has upended whole communities. And the fury people feel is not just about the money they have lost. It is about the wrenching recognition that this time their lives may never be the same.

These people work hard. They meet their responsibilities. But now because of a manmade catastrophe — one that is not their fault and beyond their control — their lives have been thrown into turmoil. It is brutally unfair. And what I told these men and women is that I will stand with the people of the Gulf Coast until they are again made whole.

That is why, from the beginning, we have worked to deploy every tool at our disposal to respond to this crisis. Today, there are more than 20,000 people working around the clock to contain and clean up this spill. I have authorized 17,500 National Guard troops to participate in the response. More than 1,900 vessels are aiding in the containment and cleanup effort. We have convened hundreds of top scientists and engineers from around the world. This is the largest response to an environmental disaster of this kind in the history of our country.

We have also ordered BP to pay economic injury claims, and this week, the federal government sent BP a preliminary bill for $69 million to pay back American taxpayers for some of the costs of the response so far. In addition, after an emergency safety review, we are putting in place aggressive new operating standards for offshore drilling. And I have appointed a bipartisan commission to look into the causes of this spill. If laws are inadequate, they will be changed. If oversight was lacking, it will be strengthened. And if laws were broken, those responsible will be brought to justice.

These are hard times in Louisiana and across the Gulf Coast, an area that has already seen more than its fair share of troubles. The people of this region have met this terrible catastrophe with seemingly boundless strength and character in defense of their way of life. What we owe them is a commitment by our nation to match the resilience they have shown. That is our mission. And it is one we will fulfill.

Thank you,

President Barack Obama

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Don’t Ask Don’t Tell


President Obama has pledged to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” And the House passed a bill last week that would make good on this promise.

But there is real opposition in the Senate — and some Republicans are vowing to do whatever it takes to block a vote. The only way to get them to back down is to speak up.

I just added my name to the growing list of Americans in support of repealing this discriminatory law.

Will you join me?

http://my.barackobama.com/RepealDADT-share

Thanks!

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Arizona Elementary School Will Whiten The Faces Of Its Own Students On A Mural Because Some Racists Yelled At It


Via Ken Layne at Wonkette, this is just the worst story in the world:

Mural

An Arizona elementary school mural featuring the faces of kids who attend the school has been the subject of constant daytime drive-by racist screaming, from adults, as well as a radio talk-show campaign (by an actual city councilman, who has an AM talk-radio show) to remove the black student’s face, and now the school principal has ordered the faces of the Latino and Black students to be changed to Caucasian skin.

F’ing hell. Read the rest of the details here. And here’s Richard Lawson’s reaction, at Gawker.

What can I say about this? We are talking about a bunch of mentally deranged adults, who have terrorized an elementary school, for daring to paint a mural featuring the faces of black and Latino children — actual black and Latino children who live in Arizona. And we’re also talking about a group of adults who have decided to send a stirring message to their students and the world: when a bunch of mentally deranged adults — and we are not talking about people who are particularly threatening, this is a bunch of utterly gutless mopes, yelling racial slurs from their cars, egged on by some pinhead city councilman cowering behind a radio microphone — threaten a bunch of children, the best thing to do is to accede to their psychotic, racist “demands.”

Seriously, educators of Prescott, Arizona, when some creep demands you whiten the faces of your own students on a mural, the correct response is to say, “No, we will not be doing anything of the sort.”

This story really should be blasted, far and wide. You cable news producers need to get this story in the mix with a quickness. And let me be clear to you all: there are no “two sides to this story.” This is not something you need to have a panel discussion about. CNN, I don’t want to see you plumbing the depths of your counterintuition on your website, or lending credence to the notion that the gutless mopes in their cars, shrieking racial slurs at the images of children have an interesting point of view that we should “hear out” because of the need to be “balanced.” This is your moment to decry, condemn, and brutalize these evil people.

Blast them to hell, or go jump in the Gulf of Mexico.

RELATED:
Arizona School Demands Black & Latino Students’ Faces On Mural Be Changed To White [Wonkette]

~ my 2cents ..., ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

TGIF and some News …


Today, the President will be in Louisiana …the Gulf Coast to talk to those who live and work there.  It is my opinion that it is not the Media’s job to sway or make sure we are all pissed at the President; their job is to report the News and time and time again we hear cable talking heads using the time to stir-up trouble.  It’s getting tiring to see people like tamron hall and others possibly trying to get better rating numbers by joining the bash the President brigade. People in the Press and or Media need to stop pointing fingers and help get this thing solved. I say change the channel

…Lakers Win Game 1 109, Celtics 89; Game 2 is on Sunday at the Staples Center.  The public or 60% of the public say they are upset with the President’s efforts on the Gulf Coast disaster… is it possible that the Media is not giving our President a platform… thank goodness Larry King did the interview …even though it is Larry’s 25yr celebration it was a moment that the public got to hear, see and realize how the President has been feeling as well as how he actually is handling BP and Associates. It can all be improved but clearly the government is not in the oil clean-up biz and anything said can possibly make the 3stooges abandon the site if pushed …they seemed to have decided to pay for damage control spots… odd because that money could be used to pay for the damages …to families of the dead, businesses dying and for more equipment to fight this spill… it should tell everyone exactly where these guys stand … and hopefully the President knows … BP seems to be putting Profits and damage control before the People.

The pictures and video’s of the oil goo, globs and blobs let alone the video of what some of the wildlife are going through was bad enough to make parents all over the country scream and turn the channel.  The photos are outrageous and while people are yelling where are the people/ and people need to clean this up… who is letting the viewers know that the air is that bad; it’s so unsafe for folks to be working there without some sort of mask or more hardcore -that is why the area is empty; this is not being conveyed to the viewer …we all need to see the awful things; this  should help Americans get it; we need to move toward Green Energy unlike how Gov Jindal seems to  feel …we don’t like big Gov’t, we want less spending but on the other hand Govt is not acting fast enough or spending enough money to get us out of this mess. It is unfortunate that people on the state level turned their heads while a lot of deals and money exchanged hands; like the current reports of money being given to Republicans as recent as last week from BP and Halliburton and it’s offensive.

It’s Friday, almost 2 months into what seems like an endless stream of bad news and photos from the Gulf Coast that prove what deepwater drilling does to the environment without proper equipment and lack of emergency procedures.  It is another day that 11people need to be recognized and condolences made to their families; the truth behind the accident will show the lack of safety features and hopefully used to recoup funds from the 3stooges.

And as the next BP procedure gets adjusted and or new procedure has to be used; We the People wait for the video the live shot or the reporter lucky enough to get both.  It’s not lost on me that the junkshot,  topkill, tophat and caphat procedures only seem to happen when it’s dark … why? out of sight out of mind or maybe less stress? anyway, it’s frustrating not being able to see the procedure happen; if nothing else we would all get a better idea on how far technology has come when it comes to getting something that has the value of gold but prefer to take extreme risks where worker safety is concerned. There are reports stating profits from oil is insane; probably the only reason why folks get into the oil business, willing to risk the environment or the people vs absolute profits

Hurricane season is here and while those of us outside the Gulf Coast sit and wait for things, something, anything positive to happen the reality that at any moment the whole area will need to be cleared out because the next natural but nasty thing is going to make a major impact on the Gulf Coast.  The weather is being watched closely by most weather experts and hopefully those responsible for the people on the Gulf Coast and their safety are as well because it’s clear  being prepared not only is a cliché; it’s one of many missing elements that could have prevented this type of incident.  It’s obvious this disaster has made  more people actually consider our future ,consider solutions that do not include fossil fuels but about moving toward Solar, Wind Biofuel, smart grid, batteries and more.

immigration … after watching the press conference that the Gov of Arizona held it appeared like she was nervous and uncomfortable but tried to seem like she got the best of the President …maybe she thinks that the written word will stop police officers who now have to act like ICE agents from negative behavior; that the written word will keep their emotions in check  but it won’t; racial profiling is used on a daily basis by the police  and while against the law, it’s accepted behavior … It is a side of human nature most of us know is bad but it’s there and this Governor just doesn’t get it … the video of a Seattle Police Officer was definitely an example of how some police officers can and do act … no all police officers will cross that line but it’s 2010 and this guy yelled shouted and called the so-called pert a racial slur… he must have felt safe that he would not be caught on tape …21st Century technology kept him in check…the written word of a law is only as good as the officer who takes the words written into law seriously.  Just ask people of colour who drive great cars and get pulled over; who visit parks and get questioned because they looked reasonably suspicious but there was no probable cause …this law seems  unconstitutional, will alienate minorities and drive undocumented people back into the shadows which is bad for the overall good of the state of Arizona.

Other News …

**Private Sector Companies are starting or have been outsourcing jobs …sending the jobs to China

**Changes today to  Gulf fishing  closure due to oil spill effective 6pm; call 800 627 NOAA for info or view map at http://ht.ly/1UbJx

Though Republicans are seizing on the Gulf oil crisis to attack President Obama, their “embrace of offshore oil drilling and their skepticism of ‘big’ government may hamper the party’s efforts to gain politically” from Obama’s handling of the disaster. “They’re kind of stuck because they’re the party of ‘Drill, Baby, Drill,’” David Lanoue, head of the political science department of the University of Alabama, told Bloomberg News.TP

**Vann Jones will be on Bill Maher tonight

**Griffey will work for Mariners

**The Gov and Mayor got into a fight over the Tunnel … they mayor does not want the tunnel the Gov let the mayor know he was not listening.

**Republicans believe they will gain more govenors

**The cap is on but the vents have not been closed yet …doug suttles states they will do so later on today

Myanmar has reportedly acquired components for a nuclear weapons program, including technology for uranium enrichment and long-range missiles, according to a defector from the nation’s Army. “The purpose is they really want a bomb. That is their main objective,” said defector Sai Thein Win.TP

C-SPAN …

watch Pres. Obama Remarks

Primary Elections Update

Democratic Governor’s Association 2010 Strategy

Eric Holder Remarks on Civil Rights

Cap placed on oil leak: President to Gulf to assess progress

President Obama returns to the Gulf region today to assess the latest efforts to contain the largest oil spill in U.S. history. This is his third visit to the region since the spill began in April and the second visit in just under a week. The White House said yesterday that the government will be sending BP and other responsible parties a bill for $69.09 million for costs of the response and recovery operations relating to the BP/Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.   Yesterday, crews cut through the pipe from the leaking oil well in the Gulf of Mexico and this morning BP said it has placed a cap on the pipe and that some oil is flowing thru pipes to tanker ships.

watch LIVE Undersea ROV Cameras watch Adm. Allen (6/3)

Unemployment dips to 9.7%: 430,000 jobs created but most were temporary census workers

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has released it employment statistics for the month of May. It finds that 430,000 jobs were created but 411,000 of those jobs were temporary census workers. The unemployment rate dropped from 9.9% to 9.7%. The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for unemployment benefits dropped last week, but figures show the job market continues to remain weak.

watch LIVE NOW: WJ on unemployment numbers
read BLS May Report:

Book TV Spotlights 2009 & 2010 Pulitzer Prize Winners

Tonight’s Book TV theme highlights three Pulitzer Prize recepients and their recently awarded books.

David Hoffman, former Moscow bureau chief for the Washington Post, begins the evening when he recounts the final decade of the Cold War and the nuclear and biological munitions that remained following the collapse of the Soviet Union. The Dead Hand was the recipient of the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for general non-fiction. Then, author T.J. Stiles outlines the life of Cornelius Vanderbilt, who was central in the ascendancy of the American corporation and whose fleet of steamships and railroad holdings allowed him to possess one of the largest fortunes in world history. T.J. Stiles’ The First Tycoon won the 2009 National Book Award for Nonfiction and the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Biography. And finally, Liaquat Ahamed recounts four of the world’s central bankers who attempted to rebuild the global economy following WWI in his 2010 Pulitzer Prize book for history, Lords of Finance .