The Season has begun

July 26, 2010...Monday...5:45 pm

All day long we've been having heavy rainstorms with thunder and lightening.

Typical Gulf Coast weather.

This afternoon about 5:45 power went out after three little "blips". It stayed out till 8:15 this evening.

Actually it wasn't that bad. Hubby and I took our evening cocktails out on the patio and discussed my upcoming forced retirement and our love for our cats and nature, followed by him bringing his guitar and strumming some wonderful acoustic sounds.

At about 8-ish the power came on and "wooze" could be heard all around the neighborhood.

This is our wakeup call. Time to check the battery supply, time for hubby to run that line to plug in our generator, time to get ready for mother nature's decisions.

We'll be okay. Been here, done that. We can handle this after BP. But pray for us nonetheless, y'all.

Thanks!
"

a shill for corporate america

My title is taken from this post on American Zombie blog.

Apparently Kenneth Feinberg, the man currently serves as the government-appointed administrator of the BP Deepwater Horizon Disaster Victim Compensation Fund.

However, this same Kenneth Feinberg whose law firm represents the following corporate clients:

Altria Group, Inc.
American Express
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
British Airways
Conoco, Inc.
Dow Corning Corporation
DuPont (E.I. DuPont De Nemours & Co.)
Eli Lilly & Company
Exxon Corporation
Ford Motor Company
General Electric Company
Hoechst Celanese Corporation
Mastercard
Pfizer, Inc.
Philips Electronics N.A.
Purdue Pharma
Raytheon
Shell Oil Company
Virgin Atlantic
Visa

I'm not saying that Mr. Feinberg has a conflict of interest or anything. After all, his law firm doesn't represent BP, but the fact that some of his clients ARE oil companies makes me wonder if he can be fair to the Gulf Coast residents who are honestly pursuing claims from the damage that the BP oil disaster has caused in their lives. We shall see, I suppose.

Salazar is a Scuzzbucket

From the Wall Street Journal.

"There were some unusual moments during the first hearing of the presidential commission on the BP-Deepwater Horizon accident. And no, we’re not talking about the speakers who showed up claiming to represent the Communist Party. Or the witness who pulled out a guitar and crooned a song about the accident.



No, the really odd moment came when Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in a statement that he was looking to the commission for information that could inform the administration’s position on halting deepwater drilling."

Scuzzbucket of the Week

Andrew "I'm a journalist" Breitbart.

So called blogger who takes things out of context, who accepts money from probably many tea bag partiers.

This guy isa trashy and "odious" (a cool word from Anderson Cooper). He takes opportunistic pieces of videos and soundbites to promote his side of a story.

Take the Shirley Sherrod story. Breibart took JUST what he needed from a story of Ms. Sherrod and used it to portray her as a racist. That's pretty scummy.

oh, crap

click on graphics to view larger pictures.

Fort Pike Closing

Fort Pike and four other state historic sites will be shuttered starting Monday under a legislative directive to save money, the director of the Office of State Parks said Wednesday.

The closure of the five facilities brings to seven the number of sites closed, according to Stuart Johnson, assistant secretary of the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, and head of the parks office.

Besides Fort Pike in eastern New Orleans, which has been closed to the public and used as a staging area for oil spill operations for several weeks, the other four that will be closed on Monday are:


- Centenary State Historic Site in Jackson.

- Fort Jesup State Historic Site near Many.

- Native American mounds at Marksville State Historic Site in Avoyelles Parish.

- The Plaquemine Lock State Historic Site in Plaquemine.

Johnson said the closure of the seven sites will save the state about $350,000 a year. He said his office is exploring ways to reopen the facilities in a few months by getting local governments or historical societies to help run them.

Thanks, Legislature. You greedy bastards couldn't find some other place to find that measly $350K from? Sure, just close down wonderful sites like the above so you can have your perks and make sure your pet projects are funded. This is disgusting.

Just 11 months ago my husband and I were thrilled during our last visit there to see how far the Fort had come since Katrina and then Gustav.

I'm tired of bad news.

From a Transocean Survey

From a NYT article Workers on Doomed Rig Voiced Concern About Safety

Only about half of the workers interviewed said they felt they could report actions leading to a potentially “risky” situation without reprisal.
“This fear was seen to be driven by decisions made in Houston, rather than those made by rig based leaders,” the report said.

“I’m petrified of dropping anything from heights not because I’m afraid of hurting anyone (the area is barriered off), but because I’m afraid of getting fired,” one worker wrote.

“The company is always using fear tactics,” another worker said. “All these games and your mind gets tired.”

Investigators also said “nearly everyone” among the workers they interviewed believed that Transocean’s system for tracking health and safety issues on the rig was “counter productive.”

Many workers entered fake data to try to circumvent the system, known as See, Think, Act, Reinforce, Track — or Start. As a result, the company’s perception of safety on the rig was distorted, the report concluded.

Here’s the address of the full article
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/22/us/22transocean.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&th&emc=th

Be the One

Sign the petition at , be the one

Be the One

Here's the story about the video

Petroleum Products (partial list)

A partial list of products made from Petroleum (144 of 6000 items)

One 42-gallon barrel of oil creates 19.4 gallons of gasoline. The rest (over half) is used to make things like:

Solvents	Diesel fuel	Motor Oil	Bearing Grease
Ink	Floor Wax	Ballpoint Pens	Football Cleats
Upholstery	Sweaters	Boats	Insecticides
Bicycle Tires	Sports Car Bodies	Nail Polish	Fishing lures
Dresses	Tires	Golf Bags	Perfumes
Cassettes	Dishwasher parts	Tool Boxes	Shoe Polish
Motorcycle Helmet	Caulking	Petroleum Jelly	Transparent Tape
CD Player	Faucet Washers	Antiseptics	Clothesline
Curtains	Food Preservatives	Basketballs	Soap
Vitamin Capsules	Antihistamines	Purses	Shoes
Dashboards	Cortisone	Deodorant	Footballs
Putty	Dyes	Panty Hose	Refrigerant
Percolators	Life Jackets	Rubbing Alcohol	Linings
Skis	TV Cabinets	Shag Rugs	Electrician's Tape
Tool Racks	Car Battery Cases	Epoxy	Paint
Mops	Slacks	Insect Repellent	Oil Filters
Umbrellas	Yarn	Fertilizers	Hair Coloring
Roofing	Toilet Seats	Fishing Rods	Lipstick
Denture Adhesive	Linoleum	Ice Cube Trays	Synthetic Rubber
Speakers	Plastic Wood	Electric Blankets	Glycerin
Tennis Rackets	Rubber Cement	Fishing Boots	Dice
Nylon Rope	Candles	Trash Bags	House Paint
Water Pipes	Hand Lotion	Roller Skates	Surf Boards
Shampoo	Wheels	Paint Rollers	Shower Curtains
Guitar Strings	Luggage	Aspirin	Safety Glasses
Antifreeze	Football Helmets	Awnings	Eyeglasses
Clothes	Toothbrushes	Ice Chests	Footballs
Combs	CD's & DVD's	Paint Brushes	Detergents
Vaporizers	Balloons	Sun Glasses	Tents
Heart Valves	Crayons	Parachutes	Telephones
Enamel	Pillows	Dishes	Cameras
Anesthetics	Artificial Turf	Artificial limbs	Bandages
Dentures	Model Cars	Folding Doors	Hair Curlers
Cold cream	Movie film	Soft Contact lenses	Drinking Cups
Fan Belts	Car Enamel	Shaving Cream	Ammonia
Refrigerators	Golf Balls	Toothpaste	Gasoline

Americans consume petroleum products at a rate of three-and-a-half gallons of oil and more than 
250 cubic feet of natural gas per day each! But, as shown here petroleum is not just used for fuel.

 

 

 

SOS Abita

Abita beer has brewed a new beer to support the Gulf Coast charities.

From their website: SOS.ABITA.COM:

SOS – A Charitable Fund that will assist with the rescue and restoration of the environment, industry and individuals fighting to survive this disastrous oil spill.

The fund has pledged that 100% of all money raised will go to charity. In addition, the Louisiana Seafood Marketing Board will play an important role in advising where the money can do the most good. An advisory committee is being established as the donation process and grant procedures are finalized.




The centerpiece of the fundraising effort is a new charitable beer created by Abita. The brew is called SOS – A Charitable Pilsner.



This Abita Beer is a message in a bottle...a distress signal for the troubled waters of our Gulf Coast.



For every bottle sold Abita will donate 75¢ to the rescue and restoration of the environment, industry and individuals fighting to survive this disastrous oil spill. This unfiltered Weizen Pils is made with Pilsner and Wheat malts. It is hopped and dry hopped with Sterling and German Perle hops. It has a brilliant gold color, a sweet malt flavor, and a pleasant bitterness and aroma.

In addition, related retail merchandise (hat, tee shirt, lapel pin, decal and car magnet) will be sold and 100% of the net proceeds will also go to the SOS Fund.

Available at Rouses, I heard on the radio this morning that there is a limited amount of this beer, so buy early.

The website is very unique. Check it out here.


I've ordered a baseball cap!!!

The Chauvins

'No way' for BP to make shrimpers whole?
Family used to crises fears it's too much
BY CHRIS JOYNER
GANNETT NEWS SERVICE

CHAUVIN, La. -- Kim and David Chauvin are old hands at crisis management.


In 2005, Hurricane Rita swamped their home, which doubles as their family shrimping business, Mariah Jade Seafood. Hurricane Gustav was a direct hit in 2008.
Each time, Kim, David and the kids got to work, fixed what the storms broke and moved on. "You get loans and do what you have to do," Kim Chauvin said.
This disaster is different.

Since the April 20 BP oil spill, the Chauvins spend their days working the phones instead of trawling southeast Louisiana's shrimp-rich water.
Kim Chauvin lobbies state and federal officials for more action, using her pull with the state seafood association to keep up the pressure.

Her husband is constantly in touch with BP, making sure the family's three shrimp boats remain part of BP's Vessels of Opportunity program, which hires privately owned boats to help contain the spill.

"We live on the phone lately," David Chauvin said. "I'm starting to answer the phone, 'Crisis hot line.' "

Every member of the family is involved in the family business. Sons David, 21, and Dustin, 20, work on the family's shrimp boats along with their 14-year-old sister, Mariah.

The Chauvins knew the severity of the spill before most Americans. A few days after the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded, killing 11 workers, a BP contractor visited David Chauvin to ask for his help in arranging for a couple of dozen shrimp boats to help fight the growing disaster.

David Chauvin can still remember the contractor's warning: "It's going to be bad."
That turned out to be an understatement.

On a typical summer day, Mariah Jade Seafood brings in 100,000 pounds of shrimp for processing. Recently, that haul has dropped to 13,000 pounds for an entire week.

Kim and David Chauvin were high school sweethearts who married at 18.
David Chauvin, a fifth-generation shrimper, is the hands-on manager at Mariah Jade, working the boats with his children. Kim Chauvin keeps the books and relentlessly lobbies for the company and the Louisiana shrimping industry.

Mariah Jade was poised for a big year, but the Chauvins expect to lose $1.6 million in gross sales in May because of the oil spill. The family has received some compensation from BP, but Kim Chauvin scoffs at the idea the company will make anyone whole, as it has promised.

"I've seen people who gross $3 million get a $75,000 check," she said. "There is no way this oil company can make this community whole."

Kim Chauvin said all they want is to go back to work.

"This was not the fishing community's fault," she said.