Right To Bare Arms!

Today on the noon news our local NBC affiliate ran a story about today's Supreme Court decision concerning the second amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Under the story they ran an interesting banner proclaiming "The Right to Bare Arms." Well! It's nice to know that is OK now!

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Cone Of Uncertainty

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I am in the cone of uncertainty,
There is a major hurricane lurking o’er the sea.
Computer models explain where it might go
But till then we just don’t know.

It is a frightening thing
Scary as can be
When you’re in the cone
Of uncertainty!

Today it’s passed over the Yucatan
It’s in the Gulf and we don’t know where it’ll land
From Veracruz to New Orleans they’re all on alert
It will land somewhere and you know it will hurt.

It is a frightening thing
Scary as can be
When you’re in the cone
Of uncertainty!

I’ll gas up my car and buy food in some cans
Tape up my windows and make my plans
I’ll have to decide just where I’ll go
If the hurricane hits and the wind starts to blow!

It is a frightening thing
Scary as can be
When you’re in the cone
Of uncertainty!

I’m living in the cone
Of uncertainty

There is a tropical wind a blowin
And I hope it don’t hit me.
I am watching the weather channel
To see where it might go
But I plan on leaving if it starts to blow.

Lincoln And McClellan

Comparisons have been flying since the Rolling Stone article concerning the remarks made by Afgahnistan theatre commander Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal broke. My first thoughts were of Truman and MacArthur and many others made a similar connection.

Upon further reflection I thought about General George B. McClellan and President Lincoln during the Civil War.
Today I see many others have also made that connection and it seems to be a more apt parallel. Lincoln twice hired and fired "Little Mac," as his soldiers called him. I wont recount the history here but one incident stands out. Lincoln went to McClellan's residence in Washington one evening and was kept waiting for hours in the parlor. Finally a servant informed the president that the general had retired for the night. McClellan did not long stay in command of the Army of the Potomac and the rest is history.
Part of that history included a run for the Presidency on the Democratic ticket on a platform of ending the war and letting the south become independent. Does McChrystal have a political future in mind?

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General McChrystal Channels Douglas MacArthur

                                                                           

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Following the end of World War II, during the occupation of Japan, General Douglas MacArthur and President Harry. S. Truman famously butted heads several times. When war broke out on the Korean Peninsula this battle continued, culminating in MacArthur's dismissal. MacArthur openly disagreed with official U.S. Policy and made it known in the press.
Truman could not condone behavior such as this from any general, even MacArthur.
The current situation between president Obama and General Stanley McChrystal, commander in Afghanistan, is reminiscent of the strife between MacArthur and Truman.
This is a test of the constitutional provision of making the military subordinate to civilian government.

Nattering Nabobs Of Negativity!

Vuvuzelas of  the far right!

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Recalling Ixtoc I

Ixtoc I was a well drilled by Pemex (Petroleos Mexicanos) off shore of the Yucatan in the Bay of Campeche. The drilling platform was owned by SEDCO, a company owned by then Governor of Texas, Republican Bill Clements.
In the Spring ( I think) of 1979 it blew out and spilled oil into the gulf at a tremendous rate. It pumped for over six months until relief wells permitted them to cap the flow.
The drilling rig had been towed into deeper water and scuttled before investigators could look into the cause of the blowout.
Gov. Clements said at the time "It was not a big deal."
It was a big deal.
Once Clements came to the coastal bend area here to talk with those affected by the spill. As his helicopter approached he was warned there was a hostile crowd awaiting so he just flew away without landing.
Oil flowed up the coast and coated Texas beaches, leeched into the wetlands, killed birds and fouled nesting areas. Shrimp and other fisheries were extensively damaged. All this sounds kinda familiar doesn't it?
For years afterwards beach goers carried dish washing detergent and other such things along with rolls of paper towels to clean tar from feet.. Our surfboards carried perpetual tar gobs on them and beach car floor boards became encrusted with tar. Eventually it dissipated with big sheets sinking to the sea floor. Occasionally storms would break loose some of these deposits which would duly wash ashore.
Now days there seems to be little sign of it when you go to the beach and when tar does still wash ashore infrequently it is usually attributed to "natural" seepage, something I don't really recall prior to Ixtoc.

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Joe Barton Decries BP "Shakedown" By Obama!

Texas Congressman Joe Barton made a statement today accusing the administration of conducting a "shakedown" by requiring BP to place $20 billion in an escrow account for Gulf Coast recovery funds as a result of the disastrous and spreading oil spill.
Barton has long been a "friend" of big oil in Congress collecting close to $2 million in campaign contributions from that sector over the years.
Perhaps that money might be construed as "protection money!"

Pic: Joe with 'the envelope.'
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Whitman Dumping The Dough On California Race!

Meg Whitman spends $90 million so far, says she will go to $150 million to win election!

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Singing A Different Tune Now!

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Carly Fiorina; I'm So Today!

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The Heron Nestling

I am a young heron nestling.
By the time anyone reads this I willl be dead,
Killed by the oil from Deepwater Horizon.
I never will learn to fly, catch fish, to be a heron.
I will never have offspring to carry on my line.
My life will be short and miserable.
I am killed by the insatiable desire to drive SUV's
And other vehicles to the hair salon or the convenience store.
I will die along with thousands of others of my kind
Because Americans will not learn to live in natural harmony.

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DC-3 Sprays Anti-Dispersant Over Oil

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