MEMORIAL DAY

IMAGINE

On May 30, 2010, at 10:06 a.m, the direct cost of occupying Iraq and Afghanistan will hit $1 trillion. And in a few weeks, the House of Representatives will be asked to vote for $33 billion of additional "emergency" supplemental spending to continue the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. There will be the pretense of debate - speeches on the floor of both chambers, stern requests for timetables or metrics or benchmarks - but this war money will get tossed in the wood chipper without difficulty, requested by a President who ran on an anti-war platform. Passing this legislation will mark the breaking of another promise to America, the promise that all war spending would be done through the regular budget process. Not through an off-budget swipe of our Chinese credit card.

The war money could be used for schools, bridges, or paying everyone's mortgage payments for a whole year. It could be used to end federal income taxes on every American's first $35,000 of income, as my bill, the War Is Making You Poor Act, does. It could be used to close the yawning deficit, supply health care to the unemployed, or for any other human and humane purpose.

Instead, it will be used for war. Because, as Orwell predicted in 1984, we've reached the point where everyone thinks that we've always been at war with Eastasia. Why?

Not because Al Qaeda was sheltered in Iraq. It wasn't. And not because Al Qaeda is in Afghanistan. It isn't. Bush could never explain why we went to war in Iraq, and Obama can't explain why we are 'escalating' in Afghanistan.

So, why? Why spend $1 trillion on a long, bloody nine-year campaign with no justifiable purpose?

Remember 9/11, the day that changed everything? That was almost a decade ago. Bush's response was to mire us in two bloody wars, wars in which we are still stuck today. Why?

I can't answer that question. But I do have an alternative vision of how the last 10 years could have played out.

Imagine if we had decided after 9/11 to wean ourselves off oil and other carbon-based fuels. We'd be almost ten years into that project by now.

Imagine if George W. Bush had somehow been able to summon the moral strength of Mahatma Gandhi, Helen Keller, or Martin Luther King Jr, and committed the American people to the pursuit of a common goal of a transformed society, a society which meets our own human needs rather than declaring "war" on an emotion, or, as John Quincy Adams put it, going "abroad, in search of monsters to destroy".

Imagine.

Imagine that we chose not to enslave ourselves to a massive military state whose stated goal is "stability" in countries that never have been "stable", and never will be.

Imagine.

"Imagine all the people, living life in peace."

BEACH REPORT: MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND

What's the Mood?

It's another Memorial Day weekend and as we do every year atleast those of us here at the shore, we wonder what the mood of the visitors ( shoobies) will be this year? Last year it wasn't good. They had all endured the wretched winter of their collective discontent and needed a collective chill pill. This year who knows? It seems as though so far they're all driving new cars which is a good sign. Or did the endless snow storms of this past winter wreck their old cars?

Fewer and fewer - But "local" taxes rise anyway

It seems as though here along the coast for most residents less and less people are now living here year round. Doesn't matter to city hall though taxes go up and up and up anyway Even the year rounders seem to disappear after X-mas and the number of vacant stores continues to grow. As for the larger economy ( the Gov't and Corp. sector) that also seems to be changing with the Casinos continuing to slowly wind down ( 3 yrs. of losses now) and some of the local Gov'ts starting to lay off police , fire and teachers, as tax revenues continue to descend and State aid disappears. ( not in Margate however where Gov't spending continues to grow and on unnecessary things like batting cages and tennis courts.) I could be wrong, but it appears that contrary to popular belief the" local" private economy continues to weaken.

The Larger Economy

As for the larger World, Nat'l & Regional economy , your guess is as good as mine? The OIL leak and Europe's troubles seem to be dominating the news right now, but the Congress and the Gov't in general for some unknown wants to believe things are just rosy. Why this is is beyond me? @ this juncture almost 3 yrs. since the start of this great Recession there is still over 10% unemployment nationally with much higher numbers without work in many regions. Is this what is now being called a recovery? For whom ? It appears what has been decided is that it's ok if a significant portion of the population has no work, if that's how the pain economically is going to be distributed. At the same time the Congress is worried about deficits and is cutting the safety net even further all the while continuing to garnish the bottom lines of those who already have most of the wealth. It's as if Reagan ism just continues to be believed in by these people long after it's been proven to be a fiasco for everyone else.

WELCOME BACK!!

Anyway, welcome to summer 2010 here @ the Jersey Shore. Let's all pray that BP or someone plugs the damn hole in hell down there in the Gulf before the mess drifts our way on the Gulf Stream and the tides of this falls Hurricanes. As for the local scene, I wish all the merchants well and hope the weather this summer is better then today.

THE GUSHER CONTINUES !! NEWS REPORTS OF STOPPAGE WERE PRE-MATURE!

The OIL Spill from Space

The Second Coming

S.B. Yeats

Turning and turning in the widening gyre

The falcon cannot hear the falconer;

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;

Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,

The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere

The ceremony of innocence is drowned;

The best lack all conviction, while the worst

Are full of passionate intensity.

Surely some revelation is at hand;

Surely the Second Coming is at hand.

The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out

When a vast image out of Spritus Mundi

Troubles my sight: somewhere in the sands of the desert

A shape with lion body and the head of a man,

A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,

Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it

Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.

The darkness drops again; but now I know

That twenty centuries of stony sleep

were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,

And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,

Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

THE GUSHER

Unfortunately, earlier reports yesterday that the spill had been stopped by what has been called TOP KILL ( an ironic metaphor for the whole sordid affair) appear to be premature @ best and just plain misinformation being put out @ worst. Knowing BP I'll believe the second. This odious group of Corp. villains has lied from day one about the extent and even the causes of this disaster. They are already looking to escape any liability and or costs for the huge losses that will mount as this goes on. In the mean time the SPILL or the GUSHER ( a more accurate description goes on.) Obama continues to give great speeches blah bla blah. ( get ready for the bail out of BP).

THE FACE OF CORPORATISM

Sec. Ken Salazar - Head of the Dept. of the Interior

Many people in the environmental movement had feared that if Obama appointed this man nothing would change at Interior and that Mr. Salazar would be nothing more then another Corp. shill placed on top of this sensitive agency to essentially be the new Administration's bagman, merely replacing BVSH's bagman, but continuing the same policies with minor cosmetic changes. This is exactly what has happened. Double click on the title link to read more in depth look at Sec. Salazar's tenure at Interior so far. It's no wonder why were facing the fiasco in the Gulf with this klown on top of this agency. Ultimately, it's one more example of how Obama 's admin. has in reality changed very little.

ENCOUNTERING ISRAEL

Encountering Israel - Geography, History, Culture

from the preface:
This book is intended for: armchair travelers (even if they live in Israel); travelers who have been to Israel; and those who intend to travel to Israel. My goal is to give readers a personal feeling for contemporary Israel, while not neglecting its tumultuous past. This book covers many of Israel’s wonderful sites and locales, including some unusual, less touristic ones. After reading each vignette, you’ll have a feeling for the geography, history and culture of the place, as if you’ve been there with me. Even better, you may decide to put down this book and tour Israel yourself!

STEVE KRAMER'S NEW BOOK

I'm proud to announce the new book "ENCOUNTERING ISRAEL" my good friend Steve Kramer has just published. As you can see it's about Israel, where Steve and his family have lived for almost 20 yrs. now. Steve was born and raised here in the Atlantic City area and still visits his family and friends here often. I'm sure he'll be having some kind of local book signing event here this summer and you'll hear about as soon as we do. In the mean time Congratulations Steve on this wonderful accomplishment.

WHERE'S THE OUTRAGE?

I tried printing the article here directly from the Alternet site but it didn't come through. Sorry about that. Double click on the title link to read Peter Daou's excellent and insightful analysis of why America is yawning over the unbelieveable tragedy unfolding in the GULF.

TODAY's OIL SLICK FORECAST

WKRG.com News

Gulf residents get their daily OIL slick update and forecast. Is this our future as well ( no pun intended?) This spreading disaster is Obama's Chernobyl as it grows worse by the day and NOTHING anyone seems to do has worked to stop it. The relief wells being drilled to stop it are at least 3 mos. away barring any Gulf hurricanes which you can expect for sure given the vagaries of Murphy's law in this situation. The Obama administration in the mean time is holding meetings and planning more great speeches about the Green energy future, raising gasoline mileage standards and anything and everything to distract and divert attention away from it's disastrous handling of this monumental environmental catastrophe.

Double click on the title page for an article that just about sums it up for me.

THE PRICE OF CORRUPTION

Here's what CORPORATISM produces!

I can't even begin to express the utter disgust I feel for what our Gov't and it's pals in BIG business have wrought these last 30+ yrs. The mess on the Mississippi is just the beginning folks and don't expect much help from either party or our new fearless leader Mr. Hopey Changey. This is the price for the sale of the Gov't to people who frankly don't give a damn about anything but a big fat bottom line every qtr. or is that now every hr.? How do we change this? How do we fight back against the the banality of this variety of evil ? My conservative friends preach less Gov't interference as the answer and my Liberal friends more. But, maybe their both wrong! What is the definition of interference when Corps. seem to be the ones interfering and writing the rules? On the other hand why have more Gov't when it just allows the very Industries it's supposed to be regulating to write their own rules? Something has obviously gone dramatically wrong with the way things are now being managed in this country! Here then is the real result of the oft mentioned and much tauted "PUBLIC /PRIVATE partnership."

The real meaning of that phrase is C O R R U P T I O N !!

BEACH REPORT:

MARGATE IN THE "AGE OF TEA"

It's the political season in Margate once again and it will be very interesting how this next Commission election plays out. Things have radically changed since the last election and we are now living in a much sparser time even considering Margate is the land of the top 10% , or at least that's what most people think. The truth is the great majority of the voters in Margate are not wealthy and although it's true most of the 60% of non-residents who own most of the property in Margate might be , they don't vote here.

A HOUSE DIVIDED - AGAIN

It's also true that Margate's present Commission is in some respects like the last Commission in that it's a divided house. The power in Margate is mostly in the hands of two of the three Commissioners. The odd man out like last time around is once again the Mayor ( Mike Becker). My guess is Commissioners Blumberg and Campbell will probably run for office again and this time together ( Campbell ran with Becker last time.) As for Mayor Becker, my guess is he'll run again as well and his team will consist once again of the ex. Ventnor Solicitor ( who was unceremoniously booted out after the last Ventnor election) local Attorney Scott Abbott. Herr Abbott has been very busy these last few years trying to spruce up his image in Margate and has even been going around giving speeches on Margate's history. Scott was raised in Ventnor and got his political start as Ventnor's City Atty. for over 10 yrs. Nevertheless, it's no secret his life long ambition is to be the Mayor ( for life) of Margate and if he wins this time ( he only lost last time by less then 75 votes) my guess is Becker if he also wins, will gadly hand him the dubious honors of the job. But, will they win?

TEA TIME For TOM?

Margate is a relatively conservative town and we are now living in the time of TEA ( TAXED ENOUGH ALREADY) on the conservative side of the political spectrum. Our new Gov. has re- set the political tone in NJ and it's decidedly against the public sector and those who support it and benefit from it. The simple truth is times are tough in NJ and it's relatively easy to run against it's bloated public sector. Again, my guess is Mayor Becker and Abbott will do just that, even though Abbott has his hands squarely in the public trough for years. Hypocrisy has never been a problem for conservatives, nor have been open "conflicts of interest." On the other side will be Commissioner's Blumberg and Campbell and they will probably be put in the role of defending the present Administrative regime in Margate. IMO in the time of Tea this gives the political upper hand to any individuals or teams that run against City Hall and specifically City Clerk Tom Hiltner. Tom however is politically a man to be reckoned with and almost impossible to remove, even if you do win against him. No matter who wins Tom will in the end remain standing and "in power." Here's the problem for the defenders of the Status Quo this time around. It's going to much harder this year defending a record of tax increases and projects that a few years ago seemed innocuous. Personally, this yr. if I were running I'd much prefer running against City Hall then defending it. That said, whomever wins will only have two choices after winning and that is to be for Tom or against him and if you choose to be against him chances are you'll get to sit in the odd man out seat on Washington Ave. for the next four yrs.

SCIENCE FRI: - ANTI - SCIENCE

We live in strange times. Who would ever have thought we'd still be fighting the mentality of the Dark Ages in the 21st. Century? Unfortunately, there are significant number of people today who are still mired in the thinking of the 10th Century and they are growing in number.

Double Click on the title link for the rest of the story.

THE SPILL IN PICS

The Mississippi and the spill

In what may turn out to be one of the greatest environmental calamities in human history, the still unchecked BP Gulf oil spill continues to grow. Double click on the title link for more great pictures of this unfolding disaster.

OIL SPILL UPDATE:

The Horizon platform burning

Good article this morning @ the Huffington Post @ the title link! It appears now that the whole sorry disaster is somewhat the product of almost NO Gov't oversight. Ironically, get caught in this country tossing so much as a chewing gum wrapper on a public street and you get fined , but pollute an entire eco-system , no problem. My guess is that when this is all over if it's ever all over BP and the rest of the OILY Industry will ask for a bail out and claim the disaster hurt profits. The sad part is our Gov't is so corrupt now it will probably get it.

THE REAL GUSHER THAT NEEDS PLUGGING!

Sadly, this disaster underlines and high lights what the real problem is today here in America. If we cannot or will not figure out a way to stop the endless gusher of cold hard cash into our political system were going to be seeing many more of these gigantic disasters. It's painfully obvious that the Obama admin. is almost as much a captive of this system as was the BV$H admin. before them. It's also sad, that because of present system we have little real political choice any longer, since both so called parties are in the hands of the same Fortune 500 Corps. and America has been for all practical purposes turned into a Corp. State. As for, "We the people" we've been reduced to minor shareholders , with little or no actual power any longer to change the situation. We can complain all we want but nobody in DC is really listening anymore.

BEACH REPORT:

WHELAN MOVES " BASHSHAW RESCUE BILL" FORWARD!

State Senator Whelan forged ahead this week in the State Senate with his latest, greatest and best for a few rich contributors idea, "FOUR small 200 rm. Casinos," or as I call it the Curtis Bashshaw ( "the Chelsea Hotel") rescue bill. Poor little "rich" boy Curtis Bashshaw ( of Cape May) borrowed millions right before the Wall st. economic deluge set in. He bet it all on the red that AC was going to boom like it was 1999. WRONG! Instead, AC is now in a terminal tailspin, no matter what Jeffrey Vassar and the other well paid for cheerleaders in town say. Anyone with eyes can see what the place has become. Start at the corrupt city halls filled to over flowing with friends and family and political pals and work your way to the hand painted signs ( endless Gold shops ( pawn shops) and massage parlors ( whore houses). In the heart of town now lies the Corp. mall and to finish it all off are the slowly fading Casinos. Or, you can visit the James Whelan Memorial Baseball field ( closed and slowing decaying, but your still going to pay off the bonds folks) or the Bill Gormley Memorial Train station and cross town tunnel to nowhere ( AKA Brigantine). But, a tour of AC today wouldn't be complete without a walk on it's once World famous Boardwalk now BURIED behind a ugly weed strewn bum and rat infested sand levee courtesy of Senator James Whelan and our other local hero, one time term limits champion & now Congressman "for life" Don Francesco Lobiondo. As you stroll the wooden strand you can view the endless dollar stores filled with Chinese and Indian junk and to cool off you can walk out onto the failing Ocean One Pier. They should bring the old Million Dollar Pier era flea circus and the Italian market back, if you ask me they'd both do better then Gucci. In short, AC today is like a dead fish rotting slowly in the sun.

SCIENCE FRI: - POLLUTION

As the GULF of MEXICO slowly fills with crude from the BP gusher that NOBODY seems to be able to fix, I thought it was time for a post about pollution. Double click on the title link for an excellent article at SCIENCE DAILY online on this topic.

SURF CITY Three Yrs. Later...

SURF CITY 3 Yrs. after the Army Project

@ the title link is an AC PRESS story about what the beaches @ Surf City on LBI look like three yrs. after the Army Project and it's not pretty. After dumping thousands of WW1 weapons on the beach and then spending millions to dig them up the stormy fall and winter essentially laid waste to all of it. Mother Nature giveth and she taketh away just as quickly when it comes to beaches. LBI is doomed anyway and the State has an obligation at some pt. to let the residents know this. Sea level rise will drown this fragile strip of sand long before the rest of the NJ coast line goes under in this century. In the mean time self interested politicians like Frank Lobiondo and a host of others will willingly throw away billions in tax payers $$ to line the pockets of a few dozen already very wealthy individuals and families. The end result though will be the same. Eventually, WE ( mankind) will have to retreat in the face of Nature's over whelming force.

THE PACIFIC

I've been watching the mini-series on HBO "The Pacific" these last 9 weeks. I've grown up on a steady diet of WW2 War epics, but none have equaled this one in it's riveting portrayal of actual combat. Not even the landmark film "Saving Private Ryan" produced by the some of the same team comes close to this series. I highly recommend it to anyone who thinks war is glorious. This film should be made into a mandatory part of any American history course in High Schools in this country. The kids need to see what these men had to endure to secure their future.

A CASE STUDY:

A Case study in beach replenishment

By Victor Tine

Venice, Fla., is a community of about 20,000 people located on the Gulf of Mexico, a few miles south of Sarasota. It is a vacation destination, with a quaint shopping district of small shops and boutiques and a broad, graceful main boulevard that leads to its beach. Among its major attractions is its more than 5 miles of beachfront.

But by the late 1980s, Venice had a problem. Its beach was washing away.

A big part of the problem, then-City Manager John MacLean recalled recently, was the design of a jetty at the north end of Venice Beach that was impeding the flow of sand.

MacLean had made the case that the federally built and federally owned jetty was causing the beach erosion. But the city still needed money to fix it. He had been working to secure money to renourish the beach with sand dredged from offshore when, in 1991, he hired a Washington, D.C., lobbyist named Howard Marlowe to see if he could help.

As it turned out, he could.

"Howard was very helpful in getting the funding in Washington," said MacLean, who is now city manager in Keene, N.H. "What he did was keep us on track in a timely fashion."

MacLean took another job and was succeeded as city manager by George Hunt, who said Marlowe obtained $20 million in the budget of the Army Corps of Engineers, "earmarked" for the Venice beach replenishment.

"He played a pivotal role," said Hunt, who is now human resources director in Palm Bay, Fla. "He was instrumental in shepherding the Army Corps of Engineers request through the budgetary process on Capitol Hill."

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection had mandated that the project be divided into two phases. The first took place in 1994, the second in 1996.

"That was also to Howard's credit," Hunt said. "He went back to Congress and got them to defer part of the appropriation, but to keep it earmarked until we were ready for it. The money could have easily gone to another project somewhere else."

According to the city of Venice Web site, "(t)he federally funded beach project added 250 feet seaward ... with the intention of having 150 feet left above water after the first several storms came through."

Venice also secured an agreement with the Army Corps of Engineers to replenish the beach again every 10 years for a 50-year period.

In 2005, the Corps embarked on a $12.1 million project that deposited one million cubic yards of sand along 3.3 miles of shoreline, adding 130 to 160 feet of width to the beach. The city and state jointly paid $2 million of the total.

Marlowe is still retained by the city of Venice.

"Basically, Mr. Marlowe enhances our ability to have a presence in Washington, D.C.," said Venice's public information officer, Pam Johnson. "Our congressional delegation has been active as well, but having Mr. Marlowe up there on a regular basis, meeting with people, helps us to keep a presence."

Venice pays Marlowe & Co. $3,600 to $3,700 per month on a contract that is up for annual renewal. The City Council has renewed it each year since Marlowe helped Venice win that first beach renourishment "earmark."

"We have an agreement with the Army Corps of Engineers to rebuild our beach every 10 years, but the funding has to be obtained each time," Johnson said.

Mr. Marlowe "The sand King" makes a pretty penny from dozens if not hundreds of towns like Venice, Fla., all are essentially addicted to a fine white powdery substance and can't live without it. Marlowe is a sand pusher!

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY !!

BEACH REPORT:

Margate Tax Revolt builds!!

The taxpayers in Margate seem to have had enough of the endless tax increases and what many feel is the unnecessary spending and hiring going on down @ city hall. Up until this yr. it seemed people in Margate really didn't care much about their taxes as long as City Hall didn't go too crazy and the town looked ok. Times have changed. It appears egged on by the new Christie admin. in Trenton and the increasingly hard times of the GREAT RECESSION, enough is now enough and people are pushing back. Part of the problem honestly is that IMO people who work for Gov't in full time jobs haven't a clue @ how sweet they have it compared to the average working person, who if he's even lucky these days has a job @ all in the fading "private sector." Another big problem locally is that NJ is by all accounts an extremely hostile place to own or start a new business and Margate is probably close to the bottom of places in NJ that are themselves business friendly.

MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

As some one who owned and ran small businesses in NJ for 30 yrs. you don't have to tell me how hostile it is. The problem is that NJ is also a place where the folks that work for and run Gov't seem to believe that the rest of us can be relied on endlessly to shoulder the burden of their endless demands for better pay more benefits etc. In good times or bad they expect the rest of us to choke up increasingly onerous tax increases.

CHRISTIE A REAGANITE

Another problem we now have is that the Christie admin. is a Reaganite admin. and it believes or practices "Voodoo economics" or trickle down economics, whatever you want to call it. Why is this a problem? The Christie admin. believes that lowering taxes on the wealthy and raising them on everyone else is fair and worse it believes this promotes growth. Why is anybody's guess, since this failed theory has had 30+ yrs. to prove to us it works and the almost total collapse of the small business sector in America proves it's Bullshit. Lowering taxes on billionaires does NOTHING to expand the economy. Let me say that again LOWERING taxes on billionaires does NOTHING to expand the economy. Raising taxes on the middle class and the working class however has been proven to shrink the economy for a simple reason, if 95% of the population has less money to spend they can't spend it and if they can't spend then the economy contracts. This is what has been happening for over a decade. Increasing numbers of people now have to choose between food and medicine in many instances and millions are losing their homes as well. The unemployment rate is 10% and that's the lying official rate the real rate is probably twice that. Anyway, the upshot is this. Even in Margate one of the counties wealthiest communities the average tax payer has had it. The elected officials are only part of the problem. The real problem is WE can no longer afford platinum plated Gov't at the local , county and State level. America is BROKE folks the top 1% now owns most of everything, but doesn't believe it has to pay taxes and it's bought off most of the pols @ the Federal and the State level to make it that way. Corp. taxes in America are some of the lowest in the world and many large Corps. have their addresses in the Cayman's and pay no Federal Corp. taxes at all. The increasingly shrinking Middle Class is being asked to shoulder the tax burden of both the rich and the poor and it's back is breaking under the load. Welcome to the "new " feudalism.

GEO -TUBE TO PROTECT DUNE ?

GEO-TUBE TO PROTECT DUNE In BEACH HAVEN

What will protect the Geo-tube though is the question?

This is of course part of a two part farce called Beach Replenishment. It doesn't work, so they need to build what is essentially a sand bag wall to protect their Project. Why not just build a bulkhead instead? It's total BS and the Army and the DEP know it.

LONGPORT PT. after winter 2010

Longport Pt. beach after 2010 winter

Another great aerial shot by Rob Marks. This one is of Longport pt. beach at low tide. The pt. acquired a new temporary beach it hasn't had for many yrs. It won't last however as the pt. areas and inlets of barrier Islands are especially prone to rapid build up and decay. For the summer though it looks like the pt. residents will have a nice beach. My guess is after it washes away they'll ask the State to spend millions to pump more sand on it as if it's theirs permanently.

AERIAL SHOT OF THE DREDGE WORKING OFF LONGPORT

Aerial view of the Weeks Marine Dredge working off Longport on the O.C. Project- Taken by Rob Marks this week from a Cessna.

I want to thank my good friend Rob Marks for this fantastic shot of the dredge working off of Longport the other day. I'll be posting more of Rob's work here over these next weeks as he tells me he documenting the beach erosion on the beaches from this past fall and winter.

NJ BEACHES UNDER REPAIR?

The Beach?

Check out this article @ the title link. This is where we've gone with so called Beach replenishment, or was it where Dr. Stuart Farrell and others where always taking us? Now the beach is presented like a road to be repaired every spring like filling the pot holes out here on your town's streets. These folks can waste your money on total bullshit like this folks, but just remember, they can't seem to fund stuff like real health Care or schools or any of the other REAL things human beings need. Beaches however, no problem. A Billion here A billion there endlessly, just to make sure sand stays in front of a few tens of thousands rich folks 2nd homes. Get it?

OIL SPILL TO POSSIBLY HEAD UP U.S. EAST COAST!!

The Gulf OIL spill as seen from Space

Click on the title link for a story about the spreading Oil spill (AKA the undersea gusher) that could reach the east coast of the U.S. as it's swept out of the Gulf by the Gulf Stream. We may not have escaped this disaster yet! So much for safely drilling a mile down with apparently no real way to cap such a beast. The U.S. Navy has submersibles down there trying to find some kind of emergency valve to shut it off but chances are the well head assembly is gone and this nightmare will persist till the oil is all gone. If that happens it will mean billions of barrels could end up in the ocean! This is not the same as a tanker with a finite amount of oil spilling it. This is what some environmentalists have been dreading could happen one day if one of these wells was destroyed at great depth in the ocean. That day has arrived. Unfortunately, my guess is that our CORRUPT Gov't at the Federal level will respond by bailing out the OIL sector like it's bailing out the Banksters.

BEACH REPORT:

MAY DAY!!

The warm weather is upon us once again! Everything is blooming and the wet spring and winter is providing lots of food for the birds and animals which seem to be having a delightful spring after one of the worst winters in recent memory. My yard is still filled with oddly misshapen trees and bushes that had been crushed under ice and snow for weeks back in the winter and now look like plants from the Outer Limits. The endless wind and snow/ice and rain took it's toll on homes as well and many people are finding their aging roofs need to be replaced or patched as well as replacing leaky windows and doors. Maybe, all the bad weather 's sliver lining is some much needed work for a few and slightly more energy efficient homes for next yrs. onslaught. Anyway, it's time to open up the attic vents and take a look at those awnings that need to go up and get the AC ready as well.

The Veggie garden

This will be my 32nd vegetable garden and right now it's about half full of all the early leafy greens and some stuff I put in with seed like leeks and onions. Tomatoes and peepers are up next. I buy them from a local farm market called Mazza's. They always have great plants and I've already bought my lettuces , chard, arugula and some spices from them last week. I have to use liberal doses of Miracle grow anymore to get a good crop because after 32 yrs. of gardening in the same spot the soil is getting a bit worn out even with repeated additions , fertilizers , compost and even an injection of the much vaunted mushroom soil from my cousins farm market and landscaping Enterprise in the Beverly area up near Camden. The problem here @ the beach is that are soils are naturally very sandy no matter what you do to them. This is a sandbar for all practical purposes. I've never been able to grow certain types of veggies like Corn, which I'm told like more clay soils. I don't mind, since Tomatoes love the sandy soil and I get plenty of them every yr. For about ten yrs. my garden had a nice section of strawberries growing that would winter over nicely but this yrs. heavy snow and ice seems to have taken it's toll on the old strawberry patch it seems. Oh well, maybe it's time to buy new plants anyway. Gardening is a relaxing hobby and you'll never get better food then the stuff you grow right out your own back door. I'll miss my hand full of fresh strawberries this year though. The nice thing about your own veggie garden is every year it's different and every year it provides some surprises and challenges. The insects are going to be bad this summer because of all the wet winter and spring weather but I've stopped using insecticides years ago. Their just to awful for the rest of the environment. Oh well, I'm rabbling on here. Enjoy the weather everyone!