Day: September 12, 2008

Categories
Environment Weather

Tales of Ike, and lessons about offshore drilling

We know that Hurricane Ike is going to be the worst when the National Weather Service issues warnings about getting out or face certain death. The winds are a problem, but the real issue is storm surge, and it looks to be unstoppable.

We, in Missouri, are now under a flood watch, because we’ll be finishing with the remnants of Lowell from the Pacific, just as we begin to get hit with Ike from the Gulf. Still, the risk we face is minimal, nothing, compared to what Texans are facing, and Cuba and Haiti have faced earlier.

The oil platforms along the Texas coast have been abandoned, and the refineries closed down. Congress has also had to close so the representatives from Texas and other Gulf states could head home to help. This before the debate on the new “plan” to allow off shore oil drilling.

In the midst of the sadness and despair of the damage this storm has brought, and will continue to bring, we’re faced with the ultimate irony of discontinuing the debate on allowing drilling for oil along the Atlantic coast, because we’re in the middle of a hurricane that has closed down oil drilling along the Gulf coast.

Political irony aside, I hope that the storm surge is not as high, the winds lighter, the walls are stronger, the rain gentle rather than driving. And a reminder that the Red Cross needs volunteers, blood, and money, and not just in Dallas. If you want to help the Haitians and Cubans, the Catholic Relief Services is providing help for both. Unfortunately, that’s all we can do to help Cuba.

I just got a call from my roommate that gas prices are shooting up at least a dollar per gallon this afternoon, and they’re already over $5.00 a gallon across the River from us.

Categories
Political

The political story this week

As of September 12:

  • New heights of stupidity: Glenn Greenwalk maps out the route a ridiculous accusation takes, from propaganda to major media.
  • Election will impact Supreme Court: Buffalo News Op-Ed on choosing the next member of the Supreme Court, and the impact this will have on the land.
  • Canadian Elections 101: A nice introduction to the Canadian election system.
  • Jon Stewart, funny as always, with his version of “Then and Now”.
  • Joe Klein, at Time’s Swampland, has vowed to only cover issues. He begins with a look at McCain’s Health Care Tax Increase, and follows it up with a good look at general tax plans, between both McCain and Obama.
  • The McCain interview. Scary.
  • Video: Republicans and military men on John McCain. Well done video. Very scary message. “He will make Cheney look like Ghandi.”
  • James Fallows on the Palin interview. ‘What Sarah Palin revealed is that she has not been interested enough in world affairs to become minimally conversant with the issues. Many people in our great land might have difficulty defining the “Bush Doctrine” exactly. But not to recognize the name, as obviously was the case for Palin, indicates not a failure of last-minute cramming but a lack of attention to any foreign-policy discussion whatsoever in the last seven years.’

    Actually, no interest in politics, either, because the Bush Doctrine was a point of contention during the Democratic candidate debates, and Obama has referenced it several times when discussing McCain.

    It’s as if Palin has lived in a vacuum for most of her life, where the world consists of Alaska, and “other”.

Senator McCain runs head first into women who aren’t buying his line. Way to go, ladies. However, the event softballed towards the end when Cindy McCain joined the group.

Last update: From last Palin interview: Palin earmarks are “good” earmarks; Obama earmarks are “bad” earmarks. Good, I’m glad that was cleared up for me. I was confused before, and thought earmarks are earmarks.

Categories
Critters

Thank goodness for giant squid

Because otherwise, I would go mad.