BEACH REPORT:

A BAD LAW POORLY THOUGHT THRU!

As of March 31st of this yr. NJ changed it's century old Crosswalk laws . @ the title link read an article outlining exactly what the new law is. The law we all grew up with was that drivers had to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks , NOT STOP! Today, a driver or bike rider or motorcyclist must stop for a pedestrian in a cross walk any designated crosswalk! My experiences since this new law has been passed is that most people do not have a clue at what it says. I personally wasn't 100% sure till I read the article I posted here today. However, I had been acting on my presumption that the new law required drivers etc. to STOP for pedestrians in designated crosswalks. I 've been right , unfortunately almost DEAD right now a few times. Today, I was almost run over by a speeding driver while trying to cross Atlantic ave. in a crosswalk with, get this, an ambulance with flashing lights already stopped for a family crossing the street in the opposite direction. The driver didn't even slow down. I was lucky we both got out of each others way in just a nick of time. This was not the first time this has happened to me since the new law came into effect folks.

MY ADVICE

Ignore the friggin new law and do as your mother and father taught you. When you come to a crosswalk or even the light make damn sure you look both ways before daring to cross!! DO NOT think because the State of NJ changed the law you are in any way safer now. Your NOT. In fact just thinking that puts you @ terrible risk. Why? Because, most drivers still DO NOT stop for pedestrians . Around my neck of the woods this is especially the case since most of the drivers during the summer season are from out of State and every States laws are different and most if not all of these people haven't a clue @ what NJ law is , nor do they care. The bottom line is you'll get run over if you think other wise.

BAD LAW!

Why is this an example of a bad law poorly thought thru? First off changing a law that millions have grown up with and doing it without a massive and ongoing public educational push is crazy. Secondly, the law is confusing people. Many didn't even know what the old law was to start with and the new law which requires drivers to stop the second a pedestrian steps foot at a street end into any crosswalk is just crazy! For one thing it almost invites rear end accidents as drivers slam on their brakes to try and stop if they don't have time to slow down. Another problem is when some drivers obey the law and stop and block the view of other drivers who then cannot see why the driver stopped is stopping? Maybe, they're turning? Whatever, it's a bad law and creates a more dangerous experience for both drivers and pedestrians in my view. The old law was better. Drivers had to yield and pedestrians had to be very wary. Now you have people just walking into traffic! I see it every day on the street. This law is going to eventually KILL and injure many more people then it's trying to save. It's a disaster in the making.

What to do NOW?

Should the State rescind this bad law? I don't know? I would highly recommend that a minimum the State should do a study over the next few yrs. to see if it's not making the situation worse. Changing it to save 150 lives a yr. was IMO an example of the pols. creating a law to fix a non-problem. Instead, of doing their job this is the kind of petty crap these people spend their time in Trenton doing. I've witnessed this making laws to fix non-problems many times in my life. The end result has been a society where you've broken 10 laws before you have breakfast or even leave your house in NJ.

THE CAT FOOD COMMISSION IS TRYING TO DESTROY SS

THE CAT FOOD COMMISSION

The so called Deficit Commission Congress and the WH has set up is a fraud. The real goal of these folks is to try and gut SS , Medicare and any other parts of the "New Deal" safety net the Right wing and the Oligarchs hate. That Obama and the DINOCRATS are helping out with this project just tells you who they are really owned by, doesn't it? Here's an excellent Video explaining what's really up in DC with what many are calling "THE CAT FOOD COMMISSION."

NIGHT IN VENTNOR - JULY 31ST - 4PM !!

Dress to Impress! We are expecting some awesome weather so come and get your "paddle on!" Trick out your 'yak for some great prizes. More are coming in everyday. A 4 month membership to JCC in Margate. A cruiser from 4 AAAA's Bike Shop in Ventnor A 25.00 gift certificate from Chester's Plants and Flowers in AC A 25.00 gift certificate to Two Cents Plain Ice Cream Parlor A 25.00 gift certificate to Sofia's Restaurant in Margate A 25.00 gift certificate to Girasole's in AC A 40.00 gift certificate to Ventnor Veterinary Office for Best Pet in Parade! Plus, plus, plus Come be green, mean and living lean! www.nightsinventnor.info AAAA's Bike shop will accept registration forms and payment.

REVEL - A CASINO TO FAR?

REVEL

Is REVEL AC's future or is it AC's recent past? The half finished Casino on AC's northern perimeter is a metaphor for AC today to some degree. Caught mid-way between two eras, this Casino might never be born. To me it represents everything that is wrong with AC today and at the same time everything that might have been right. It's a paradox. What to do with this failed and still born structure? We've had these kinds of aborted dreams before in other parts of the town. PENTHOUSE and PLAYBOY Casinos both died, one a still birth ( PENTHOUSE) and the other after a short life ( PLAYBOY). Both fell victim to the curious political culture of AC and both are not missed. REVEL could end up being a very large over sized Tombstone for the dream that was once a re-built and shining AC. But, in reality it was really nothing more then another over sized cash register filled with the EGO trips that was once the mighty Wall St. brokerage firm MORGAN STANLEY. Today in AC Casinos are failing and being torn down faster then they're being born and REVEL might be the next to be deconstructed if it's builders can't convince enough BIG $$ contributors to take what's looking like a huge roll of the dice on their Blue glass palace by the Sea.

TEAR IT DOWN &

Here's my suggestion for the City and the STATE.

Revel is NOT needed. Tear it down and let the STATE buy up all the land through eminent domain all the way to the other Blue nightmarish building at New Hampshire ave. Tear it down as well. Then move the boardwalk back 500 feet and in front of it build a new State beach park as an attraction and a sand reserve for the rest of the Island. Then build a sand by-pass across the Inlet from Brigantine's northern beaches. Most of AC's sand is being held behind the huge Jetty there that should have never been extended anyway. This would solve two issue for AC. 1. it would provide a more permanent and sustainable source of beach quality sand for for Absecon Island, one that would return the a more natural flow of sand across the inlet, as it was before the Inlet was dredged. This is the real reason AC is eroding away today. Secondly by moving back and building a beach park in the area where REVEL is and the rest of the land in the Inlet as well we don't have to worry about endlessly replenishing this area ( by ripping up the protective offshore shoals) anymore , or at least for the next 50 yrs. and this will allow for some of the coming sea rise. We either do it now or do it later, in either case we will eventually have to do it. A 1/2 mile beach park with the Lighthouse as it's focal pt. would be a primary attractor for the town and would anchor Northern AC's most vulnerable area from storms. Such a park would also be a beacon for other beach towns facing the sea rise. It would say were aware of it and were preparing realistically.

Natural Beauty

The Governor's plan calls for a revitalization of the casino zone and especially the area of the town along Pacific ave. This plan would anchor such a plan in a beautiful natural beach park. It would be giving our guests something for free that would be beautiful to see and enjoy. AC needs such amenities now. It doesn't need anymore glitzy Casinos.

FIVE STARTER STEPS TO REBUILD AC

1. FIX the Beach and the Boardwalk - Tear down the ugly ass Beach Project dune and give our guests back the View of the Atlantic and the sea breeze. I call this putting the Atlantic back into Atlantic City. - It will take a few dozen bulldozers and the guts to tell the NJDEP to go to hell. Clean up the Boardwalk and get some new types of businesses up there ASAP, even if the State has to subsidize them @ first. Get local people up there, not just Corp. chains that take all their profits out of the community and put little back in.

2. Clean Up Pacific Ave. NOW! Get rid of the ugly old buildings and endless Gold shops, Message parlors ( whore houses) , Pimps, street walkers a, junkies, trolls and drug addicts. Use CDRA $$ here first. Get the State Police on the street here and the Nat'l guard if necessary. Strictly enforce the building codes to get rid of the falling down buildings and slums. Turn this area into a restaurant, nightclub, bar, gift shops etc . etc. district with great parking and good cheap public transport. Go take a close look at Ocean City , MD for how this can be done.

3. Stop the plunder of the customers before they even get out of their Cars already! Remove the State mandated Casino Parking lot fees and obnoxious Xpressway tolls ASAP. Cut these folks a break. It's bad enough they're paying $3 a gal. to come here, but raping them even before they get here is just greedy and stupid and has to stop!

4. CRDA must loan $$ to local business people to start new restaurants, clubs, bars, clothing stores, gift shops, etc. - The CRDA is going to have to act as a bank and jump start new local small businesses because the banks refuse to do it and the town needs local flavor again. If we believe in Capitalism then lets put our money where our mouth is and support it and not just support BIG "Crony Capitalism" Corp. versions of it. Why? because the BIG Corps. have no real connection locally, they just move on when business dries up and while in business they take all their profits elsewhere. Small family businesses create jobs and invest where they live. I call this putting the locals back into local business.

5. Put a "local" CZAR in charge ( not a freakin Committee we don't have any time for committee politics) of this Project and have him report directly to the Governor and legislature on progress and problems every 6 mos. - We need someone from the local community that everyone knows and respects and has the back bone to make hard and sometimes unpopular decisions. Someone who doesn't want the job to just gloss his/her resume or line their pockets and their friends pockets. Preferably, a business or labor type person not a politician or lawyer type. We already have to many lawyers and pols in the mix.

JUST THE BEGINNING

These are five starter steps and they only outline what I think are some of the really basic bottom line fixes we need ASAP. If we can get these done in a yr. or two and I think most are doable in that time frame, then we can start to tackle some of the other harder issues.

START LISTENING TO THE COMMUNITY

What we cannot afford is to cater to just the Casinos anymore. The town and the State has bent over backwards giving these huge Corps. what they've wanted and take a look around at what we have 30 yrs. on. We have to STOP listening solely to the hand full of Corp. CEOs that run these places and start to listen to other voices in the community. The casino business managements are a tight little group whose primary interest and goal is to make profits for their businesses and that's ok, but when that's all they do we see the results. We need others input @ this juncture lots of others. We have to stop worshiping at the alter of material success this group represents. These people are grossly self interested no matter what they say or how many charities they toss a few bones to. We have many other people with good ideas in this area and it's time we start listening to what they have to say. The local Tourist area Czar needs to have a way to hear these voices all along the way in this process. If the larger Community feels it's involved this will work , if they feel left out or marginalized as they have been these last 30 yrs. of the Casino era then we'll just have more of the same street scene we already have that's killing the town. Give people a stake in AC and we'll move forward, don't and we'll just keep spiraling down. The bottom line is understanding the time of the Casino era is ending day by day. The gamblers are leaving in droves because they can get their "fix" elsewhere. So, we need to start back on the path of trying to attract other types of tourists to the town. It's NOT going to be easy and it's not going to happen over night. But, I'm convinced that if we start with these five relatively easy steps we'll be at least heading back in the right direction again.

CAN AC BE SAVED?

Pre-Revel sky line of AC

It sometimes seems the more things change the more they stay the same, at least for AC. All of the discussions today about how to save AC from itself take me back to the mid-70's when we were having almost the exact same discussions locally and state-wide. Back then the solution seemed simple..Gaming. Now 35 yrs. on were on the other side of that solution and it's played out. Simply put AC is dying again and this time gaming isn't going to save us because within 300 miles of AC 35 yrs. later are dozens of gaming venues that are closer to our old customer base , plus they are newer and in this economy cheaper and easier to get to.

Previous Eras

So, where do we go from here? Do we try and go back to previous eras before gaming? That's not going to be easy since we are surrounded today by newer , better and cleaner beach resorts, some with better beaches and boardwalks ( where you can even actually see the ocean). Frankly, I don't think were going to have much luck in the short competing against these venues as a family resort. Nevertheless, it appears that going in the other direction and trying to replicate Vegas isn't going to work either for many reasons.

STOP PLUNDERING OUR CUSTOMERS BEFORE THEY EVEN GET HERE!

For one thing AC has never been anything more then a cheap date. People fly to Vegas and stay for 3 days on average , here they drive in for a few hrs. and they get raped from the AC Xpressway on through the 10 dollar parking to the over priced casino restaurants and night clubs to the lousy odds at the tables. Personally, one thing the State can do right off the bat is pull the parking fees off the Casino parking lots and get rid of the stupid Xpressway tolls as well. Let our customers at least get here before you start plundering and pillaging their wallets. Plus, they have to drive through a slum to do all of this. So, clean the damn town up get rid of the corrupt inspectors and just do it already. Oh and the pawnshops and the whores and the drug dealers get rid of all of them somehow or suffer the consequences. Bring back some kind of local business scene.

THE BEACH & BOARDWALK

Once at least , our customers could walk out of a Casino onto the boardwalk and enjoy the view and the sea breeze and take a break from the smoke and the noise. Nowadays they can't even do that anymore. This is a bottom line change that has to be made ASAP, or all the other needed changes will be meaningless. FIX the damn beach already get rid of the obstructing so called dune!! Do it NOW or nothing else will ever change. It seems that maybe this message is starting to penetrate a few minds in Trenton and locally. It 's about time since it's been obvious for yrs.

TALK TALK TALK

In short, AC has in short screwed itself up worse then it was back in 75'. We can do things to change this situation. They are fairly straight forward things. So far though the vision and will to do what is necessary at even the most basic levels has been lacking. In fact , the very forces that got us here still rule the town and will fight every inch of the way to keep it just the way it is until as a friend of mine says, Change only comes when it's too it's painful to go on the way we are. Until then, all I expect is more TALK TALK TALK.

Our CORP. CITY

Back then yes, we had an old resort tired and worn, but it still at least had it's beach and boardwalk experience and a host of other attractions and hundreds of family businesses and restaurants. Today , what does it have at it's heart? A Corp. friggin shopping mall! Nothing about this place has a bit of local charm anymore. The town is the creature almost totally of BIG CORP. America and I personally think that with what's going on in this country today this image is exactly what we don't want.

THE WAY FORWARD?

So what is the way forward? @ the title link is another in the seemingly endless AC Press reports on the latest PLAN TO SAVE AC. This one centers on the Gov's panel report. Check it out by clicking on the title link.

How would you save AC? send me your ideas and comments. At this juncture we all need to start thinking way outside the box.

BEACH REPORT:

FINALLY !!!

Few headlines have given me more satisfaction then the one front and center in the Press of AC today that reads, " Christie Panel to renew "dunes vs. views' debate." Please read this whole article by clicking on the title link!!

I'll be doing another edition of Beach Report later today! I just wanted to get this breaking news out to all of you first!!

SCIENCE FRI: - THE SCIENCE OF SCIENCE

@ the title link is the wikipeda article about science itself and scientists ( professionals that do science for a living etc.) Scientists today are our real heroes and villains. These folks are the brains behind "modern civilization." Without them were back in the "middle ages" where some folks today would be more comfortable intellectually. Science unfortunately, is not held in as high esteem as it once was by a growing portion of the public. Admittedly, like all human endeavors it has a downside, pollution, nuclear weapons, Fox cable news etc. All in all though I'd rather live in a world with more science then less. What do you think?

Why Does Fox News Have More Power Than Any Progressive in the Country?

Cenk Uygur

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The Obama Administration | Fox News

by Cenk Uygur | July 22, 2010 - 1:06pm

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As we can all see now, when Fox says jump, the Obama administration asks how high? (Then jumps one inch less and considers it a progressive victory). Is there anyone Obama won't fire or throw under the bus if Fox asks him to? What if they ask Obama to fire himself? Would he do it? Or would he just fire Biden and say he met them halfway?

If the firing of Shirley Sherrod was the first time they had done this, then all of the criticism they have received might be a bit much. But as we have learned from this incident (which the rest of us already knew, with the apparent exception of Fox News and Andrew Breitbart), context matters. We've seen the rest of the tape on the Obama administration and it isn't pretty.

Van Jones, ACORN, Dawn Johnsen, Shirley Sherrod. First sign of trouble, throw someone overboard. When they fired Van Jones, I said they were only encouraging Fox. But that wasn't some genius prediction; it was only the most obvious thing in the world. Do you think the bully won't take your lunch money tomorrow if you give it to him today?

Since this seems so obvious, why can't the supposedly brilliant guys in the Obama administration figure it out? Why can't they see it's such a bad idea to keep giving in to Fox and bowing their heads? It's so bad now, they're bragging about their efficiency in genuflecting. Jim Messina, Deputy Chief of Staff, congratulated everyone the day after Sherrod was fired about the speed and agility with which they serviced Fox News. So, what's the strategy behind what appears to bepathetic cowardice to the rest of us?

The idea is that Fox News is more important than any progressive leader or commentator (or even the majority opinion of progressives throughout the country, as evidenced by polls) because liberals have nowhere to go. So, that's why you can abuse them, ignore them and even treat them with disdain -- and they'll still vote for you. What are they going to do -- vote for Republicans?

That's why Rahm Emanuel can call them "fucking retarded" and derisively dismiss them on almost every issue. They think there's no price to pay. Whereas, if they cross Fox, all of Washington will be talking about it. And they're obsessed with the Washington chatter. And they are under the grossly mistaken impression that the country gives a shit about what Fox says.

In Washington, Fox News is very important and you get judged by how quickly you handle the media maelstroms they create. That's viewed as a barometer of how well you handle "bad news cycles." So, the rest of the Washington press corps judges you by how quickly you drop to your knees to end the "bad news cycle." Congratulations Obama administration, you're now professionals!

But even more importantly, there is this insane belief that Fox News can swing centrists, which are the critical voters who decide elections. There is not a shred of evidence to that. In fact, the evidence shows that there is no audience in the country that is more deeply conservative and politically immovable.

Plus, the average age of Bill O'Reilly's audience is 71 years old. The guy is doing a show out of a senior citizen's center and Obama thinks he rules the world.

The only real damage that Fox can do is if they spread their poison to other news stations. That is why it's so imperative to label them what they are -- a conservative propaganda station (not that there's anything wrong with that). They're just not news. And they couldn't have proved it any better than they did in this case. And what did the Obama administration do with this golden opportunity? They turned it into a massive loss. Who is fucking retarded now?

But the more important miscalculation is that liberals have nowhere to go. They do have somewhere to go -- home. They can sit on their couch on election day, which according to the polling is exactly what they're going to do. When a Bloomberg poll (pdf, Page 7)asked all voters which party they favored, it was a tie. When they asked likely voters, Republicans were up by eight points. Who's fucking retarded now?

It's high time that we stop giving the Obama administration credit for being some sort of genius tacticians. Maybe it was all David Plouffe. But one thing is for sure, they seem to have no idea what they're doing politically and Fox News is handing them their ass on a daily basis. Glenn Beck came on after the Sherrod story became fully known and said that Obama shouldn't have fired her. Don't you get it, you feckless clowns, they're going to criticize you no matter what you do? You cannot appease them. You must isolate and delegitimize them.

I understand the Obama team is playing the old Washington games and think they're very clever at it. But those games don't work anymore. Bad news cycles are not created by genuine mistakes anymore, they're artificially created by Fox News channel. You can't make them go away by giving into them. You're just feeding the beast. And more importantly, you're starving your own side.

It isn't about fighting Fox News to make yourself feel better. It's about ignoring their silly attacks so you can actually bring us the progressive change you promised. Otherwise, we would be retarded to come and vote for you again.

Watch The Young Turks Here

RACHAEL GETS IT RIGHT!

Good discussion on the Maddow show about the latest phony scandal cooked up by the folks over @ FAUX News and their pals from the endlessly creative Reich Wing phony video Dept. an affiliate of the GOP et al.

CHRISTIE WANTS STATE TAKE OVER OF AC CASINO DISTRICTS

The "New" Mayor of AC ( Casino Town part)

Gov. Christie is in AC today to basically announce that he would like the State ( HIMSELF) to take over the Casino Districts. I'm not surprised. Of course he wants this to be a "Public / Private" partnership. Translated this means the Casinos will essentially become Too BIG to Fail institutions and this new political arrangement will create a State run City within AC. In short Christie and the Casino Management are staging a coup to take over entire sections of AC removing the locally " elected" officials from any direct control. Citing a history of corruption and mis-management in AC as his excuse, were witnessing what Republicans think of democracy in action. Don't like the will of the people? No problem. Local control? Fougetaboutit this is New Joisey.

Clean Up Your Own Act 1st

Oh and of course we've all seen how well the State has handled it's own affairs lately haven't we? Maybe, the Gov. should clean up his own act in Trenton first? Seems to me there is plenty of corruption and overpaid Directorships there that are escaping his notice , but not in AC. The Casino Industry though will probably be happy since he's promising to remove most of the State's oversight of their operations. My guess is this means basically a green light from Trenton to go ahead and fire as many people as you want , we won't object. Safety, health, etc., no problem, maybe we'll ignore these issues as well. Having Union problems, maybe we can help you out there also. It's not going to be a positive change for Casino employees that I can assure you.

TWO YEARS

My guess is if you come back to AC two yrs. from now little will have changed except you'll be seeing more State Police cars and a few more of Christie's GOP pals will have shiny new jobs @ 250K a clip. The NJDEP / Army Corp. Dune though will still be blocking the view of the Ocean, that's an almost sure bet. As for the rest of the town that isn't being taken over? Apparently, Non-Casino AC can just go to hell in a hand basket as far as the Gov. is concerned.

WHY NOW?

A State takeover of a town seems like a pretty drastic action to take where there is no proof of official wrong doing. Granted, AC City Gov't is a grossly over staffed and over paid from top to bottom, but so are many other NJ cities and towns and were not seeing a power grab in these places. As for the Casino Industry, I fail to see where Gov. Christie's taking direct control of the parts of the town where they exist is going to change much? The Mayor has been trying to clean up some of these areas, but there is only so much a Mayor can do since most of the properties in question are privately held. The Gov. seems to be in a hurry, but all of this hasty action isn't going to change the facts on the ground, which are that Casinos are now everywhere outside of AC and we no longer have a monopoly. This fact has been known for well over a decade, so what has changed? The politics has changed. So, maybe soon AC will have a New Mayor soon? Mayor Chris Christie.

@ the title link is an AC Press article about this topic.

THE REAL U.S. GOV'T

Glenn Greenwald hits it out of the park again with this expose. Think the NSA/CSS is defending the nation and securing the Future? Whose nation and whose future is what Glenn and others are wondering. Read all about the Real Gov't @ the title link.

LOCAL SURFING SCENE FEATURED IN MUSEUM SHOW & DOCUMENTARY FILM

Challenger Eastern Surf Team circa mid. 60's - Pic. suppled by Dan Mittelman

@ the title link is a pretty good article about some local shows featuring local surfers all the way back to the 30's. Surfing was christened locally by the Duke ( Duke Kahanamoku) himself in 1926 when he did a demo for astonished vacationers at Steel Pier ( States Ave. )

BEACH REPORT: THE GOV'S PLAN FOR AC

The Gov. giving someone a headache

The Gov's Plan for AC

The AC Press is reporting that Gov. Christie will be presenting a detailed plan for AC's future possibly as early as next week. It appears that his plan is just more Republican ideology wrapped in a shit taco for the City administration. You can read the whole story @ the title link.

BLUMBERG WANTS TO BE MAYOR

With Margate's Commission campaign just getting underway last month it now appears that one of the Commissioners Maury Blumberg , who @ present is the Commissioner of Public Safety ( the police), would like to replace Mayor Becker the next time around. There is no love lost between these two men, so this is not a surprise. How Commissioner Campbell feels about this however is unknown? To be Mayor in Margate one of the three Commissioners needs the vote of at least one other Commissioners and this is usually decided public ally the day of the election. Nobody runs for Mayor officially on the ballot. What's also unknown @ this juncture is who else will be running next year? I'm assuming local Atty. and Ex. City Atty. for Ventnor Scott Abbott will be, but that's not a fact yet either. As for the rest of the field it's any one's guess @ this juncture? The last time around in 2007 the field consisted of 9 people. I expect almost as many to run this time.

HOT summer !!

So far this summer we've been experiencing an amazing amount of days in the 90's already and it's not even the dog days of August yet. I won't be surprised if this summer ranks up there with some of the hottest ever for around here. Ocean temps. which kept things a bit cooler locally along the coast in June are now in the high 70's and there has even been some good waves for the surfers lately.

IT'S CAPPED for the moment anyway!

The BIG Nat'l news this week was of course the stopping of the Macondo monster in the gulf. BP after 87 days finally put a lid on this beast , at least for the moment as they test the well bore for leaks beneath the ocean floor. So far it's looking like the cap is holding. The relief wells are also now in striking distance form the base area of the well 13K beneath the gulf. This is all good news for the world and especially Gulf coast residents. The clean up however will probably take many yrs. and the economic disaster for many Gulf residents goes on as OIL continues to find it's way to Gulf beaches and bays.

The Blame Game is next!

The blame game comes next , with republicans of course blaming President Obama for the whole thing and Pres. Obama making speeches and trying to pin the donkey tail on BP and it's GOP pals. The truth is most of the blame is indeed BP's but another large share is squarely on the Federal Gov't for not only not regulating the behavior of this company, but for allowing the Depts. of the Gov't that are supposed to be regulating this kind of drilling to become nothing more then a subsidiary of the Companies it was supposed to be regulating.

A METAPHOR for CORPORATISM

This sorry episode folks is as I've said previously, a huge Metaphor for CORPORATISM ( Aka Crony Capitalism) run rampant. The GOP of course thinks there is absolutely nothing wrong with any of this and that the answer to Macondo mayhem is in fact more of the same, or DRILL BABY DRILL! The Obama admin. wants to suspend deep water drilling ( 1% of the drilling in the GULF @ present) until they can get larger bribes ( campaign contributions) from the same companies. The end result though will be some phony new regulations and once no one is looking another Industry approved shill as regulator. These folks are all shameless.

SCIENCE FRI: - NUCLEAR WEAPONS

Trinity test July 16th 1945

Today marks the 65th anniversary of the start of the Nuclear age. Trinity test in New Mexico happened on this date. Before WW2 ended a month later over 200K Japanese civilians would be incinerated by two weapons dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 60 yrs. later we would find out that Japan surrendered only in part because of these weapons and that it might have really given up because of the Soviet Union's declaration of War against Japan on Aug. 9th 1945. The Japanese having witnessed how Russia handled Germany at the end of the War and how the Russians were then occupying half of that country didn't want Russian soldiers to land on Japanese soil. Some historians claim this not the two atom bombs was the primary motive behind the Japanese surrender in 1945.

THE COLD WAR - NOT AS COLD AS WE THOUGHT

Subsequent to these events the west fought and won a Cold War against the ex-Soviet Union in which both sides tested hundreds of huge atomic and Hydrogen bombs in the atmosphere up until 1962. To this day nobody really knows what all the after effects of these tests were and is. Some scientist say that part of today's world-wide cancer plague is in part been caused by the massive amounts of radioactive fall out that these test created and spread all over the planet. We also, do not know what other diseases and effects on the environment and other animals this war has caused. I believe part of the mass extinction underway was also as a result of these weapons.

MAD

For more then 50 yrs. both sides in the Cold War lived under a doctrine called MAD ( mutually assured destruction) today we are not on the same level of alert as in the Cold War and Russia and the U.S. although not exactly buddies are no longer nose to nose in a Nuclear showdown. Nevertheless, over 20K nuclear weapons still exist and are ready to be used on a moments notice by 9 different countries. Although a massive nuclear exchange isn't as likely today smaller nuclear wars are very possible and even the use of nuclear weapons as terrorists devices for blackmail or to destroy a countries infrastructure through the nuclear effect called EMP ( electromagnetic pulse ) are still possible situations we must still be aware of. The introduction of these weapons 65 yrs. ago today altered the equation of War and as long as they exist it will remain altered.

@ the title link is another article about this somber anniversary.

SCIENCE FRI: - COASTAL ENGINEERING

ENGINEERS @ WORK

Engineers design and build stuff. Coastal engineers design and build stuff to try and maintain in many cases a stable coastline. @ the title link is a simple explanation of what these people try to do and various methods of doing it. To a large extent much of what they do unfortunately is a waste of time and valuable tax dollars. We'd be better off re-training these people to design and build efficient "green" energy facilities. Instead, our clueless corrupt politicians waste OUR $$ on such stupid and utterly wasteful so called coastal engineering projects as "beach nourishment" as if a beach is a child to be fed or a road to be repaved. In reality a beach is a feature of the natural world governed by forces we barely understand let alone have mastered. Don't try and tell that to the pols and their pals the Engineers though. Engineering sand is a great business you see, because no matter what you do it fails and has to be done over and over and over @ an ever increasing cost. In a "Crony Capitalist" system such as ours most of this work goes out in "no bid" contracts to an old boys network of a few companies, which kick back $$ to the pols and jobs to the Gov't bureaucrats that supposedly regulate these projects. It's a cozy little world folks one you and I are only asked to fund endlessly and of course applaud as a great victory.

BP SAYS OIL WELL IN GULF IS CAPPED TEMPORARILY

Picture of the BP GULF gusher well head a few hrs. ago.

For the 1st time in three months as BP tests it's new cap NO oil is gushing into the Gulf. Is this the begining of the end of the spill itself? BP says, not neccessarily as this is only a test to see if the well bore almost 13K feet of pipe is still intact and able to handle the pressures from the OIL and gas field it's tapped into. The test will run for 48 hrs. says BP and then they will beginning allowing oil to flow up a pipeline to waiting oil recovery ships on the surface. If the tests prove the well can be shut down from the well head however this is a good thing. If a hurricane causes the recovery of oil to have to be halted engineers will then have the option to shut the well down till the storm passes. The real fix , two relief wells that will eventually hopefully permanently seal this well are still weeks away from completion. Nevertheless, this is good news for everyone in the short. One wonders however with all the $$ and technical prowess at it's command why it's taken 3 long agonizing months to figure this out?

Nobodies watching the store

The real reason why this happened in the 1st place is because many of the Gov'ts. so called regulatory oversight bodies have become agents of the very companies they are supposed to be regulating. Why, the Obama admin. having full knowledge, of this didn't put competent regulators in place upon entering office over a yr. and half ago is a question the CORP. media seems to want to avoid. For obvious reasons. Unfortunately, in America today we see a pattern developing where Gov't no longer is protecting and serving the people. Instead, Gov't has increasingly become the paid subsidiary of the very sectors of the economy it's paid to regulate. The people in these agencies have great jobs and even better ones waiting for them in these Industries as long as they do their bidding and it's obvious that's exactly what they've been doing. Has anyone been fired yet or gone to jail? NO, in fact the policy of firing and intimidating whistle blowers inside Gov't has even intensified under the Obama admin. This is another example of what decades of "CRONY CAPITALISM" has wrought. The hard right seems to think this is just fine and the Progressive wing of the D party has been effectively neutered by a Admin. that owes it's election to these folks. This is the reward you get from CORPORATIST folks , get between them and their wealthy pals and you get the boot. As always in DC $$ talks and everyone else gets told to STFU!

ATLANTIC CITY TO GET ALMOST $8 MILLION IN ADDITIONAL BEACH REPLENISHMENT MONEY

YOUR TAX DOLLARS @ WORK?

Don Francisco Lobiondo scores again for his pals at Great Lakes Dredging and Weeks Marine!! $8 mil. more for AC beaches, maybe they'll even re-build the dune in front of the Showboat Casino ? Hey, Frank it's not fair to allow Showboats customers to have a view when everyone else 's are hidden behind your wonderful Project dude! I think you should re-name the Project in your honor Congressman. Call it the Frank Lobiondo Shore Protection Project! That way, everyone that comes to AC ( the few still coming that is) can thank you for why they can't see shit on the boardwalk anymore. Leave it to a guy from Millville or wherever your from ( it sure as hell isn't from here) to fix AC, right? You've fixed it alright, so everyone now goes to Ocean City, NJ and Ocean City Md. Where by the way Frank, you can still see the Ocean from the boardwalk! Thanks again!

BOARDWALK SHOWS TO HIDE THE OBVIOUS?

SHOWS TO ACT AS "WINDOW DRESSING?"

@ the title link is a story in the AC PRESS (AKA THE LOCAL NEWS MONOPOLY) on how The geniuses that run AC are going to hide the fact that the ONLY show people are looking for when they walk on the Boardwalk is the one with the Ocean in the background and the cool sea breeze blowing in the fore ground. Sans that these people can put all the window dressings they want on the big pile of SAND they've put on the beach and it's NOT going to change anything. The Boardwalk as a stage? Keep trying Jeff, who knows, maybe someday you'll figure it out.

OUR EXTREMELY DEGRADED ENVIRONMENT

Published on Sunday, July 11, 2010 by The Guardian/UK

A Truly Toxic Issue: Our Chemical Environment

A truly toxic issue Modern life is saturated with carcinogenic chemicals. But without regulation, just how are we supposed to avoid them?

by Sadhbh Walshe

I used to be under the impression that you had a reasonable chance of avoiding debilitating and potentially fatal diseases like cancer if you just took a few simple precautions: ate plenty of fruit and vegetables, gave up smoking, drank in moderation and did a bit of exercise. It's since become apparent that the world we live in is so overrun with environmental pollutants that it is next to impossible to keep oneself truly healthy.

A report released in the US earlier this year by the President's Cancer Panel concluded that the risk of environmentally induced cancer has been grossly underestimated; that exposure to potential carcinogens is widespread; that the 80,000 or so chemicals used by millions of Americans in their daily lives (mostly inadvertently) are largely unregulated and that, to a "disturbing extent", babies are being born "pre-polluted".

As someone who has spent a great deal of her time cycling around farmers' markets in inclement weather to fill cloth bags with local seasonal and organic produce, and sweating out toxins in hot yoga studios in between, these findings are particularly enraging.

I've known for a while that imbibing food is a perilous adventure. Meat, fish and dairy products have long since terrified me. Even fresh produce has its dangers. A conventional apple for example - the very fruit that is meant to keep the doctor at bay - can contain up to 42 different pesticides, many of them known carcinogens.

But now, it seems that food is the least of our worries, to the extent that you have some control over what you digest. The fact is we are being bombarded 24/7 by toxic chemicals: benzene and formaldehyde in our furniture and carpets, bisphenol A (BPA) in food containers and the coating on credit card receipts, and who knows what in our electronic devices.

Some of these chemicals, like formaldehyde (which is probably in the desk I'm typing at right now and in the sofa I'll be reclining on later) and BPA, which is everywhere, have been the subject of hundreds of studies and are known to be harmful, even in very low doses. BPA is particularly troubling, being linked to breast cancer, infertility and birth defects in infants (reducing the normal distance between their anus and genitals for example), yet it is ubiquitous in - of all things - babies' bottles. BPA was banned from use in Canada in 2008; despite more than 700 studies coming to the same distressing conclusion, it is still FDA-approved for use in the United States.

And these are just the chemicals we know about. What damage the other 79,998 or so chemicals floating about are causing is anybody's guess.

You can, of course, minimise your exposure to toxic chemicals by adhering to the following set of guidelines: buy food, home and garden products, toys, medicines, furniture and clothing that are organic and free of BPA, phtalates, endocrine disruptors, formaldehyde and other toxic by-products of the manufacturing process. Filter your water and air, don't use your mobile phone, don't use Wi-Fi, don't use the microwave, steer clear of electronic devices generally, wear sunscreen, avoid carpets, test your house for mould, test your house for radon levels, avoid first-, second- and third-hand smoke - and next time you sign a credit card receipt, try not to touch it.

No problem, right? Well, not if you have the resources of someone like Madonna or Gwyneth Paltrow, perhaps, but for the average Joe, toxin-free living is simply not feasible. I can't get my landlord to clean the windows in my apartment - so there's no way he's checking the radon levels anytime soon. And how, exactly, is one supposed to recognise an endocrine disruptor when it comes knocking?

For people of limited means, this is an even bigger problem. They have enough to be getting on with trying to put food on the table without having to worry whether the food, not to mention the table itself, is safe.

If average citizens are to have any hope of a toxin-free lifestyle, we need the government to step in and regulate the poisonous substances that we are being exposed to on a daily basis. Fortunately, there is some light at the end of the tunnel. Last April, Senator Lautenberg proposed the Safe Chemicals Act, which would overhaul the dangerously outdated Toxic Substance Control Act of 1976. The new act, like many others before, is still waiting for congressional approval and you can be sure that the longer it languishes, the happier the plastics and manufacturing industries will be.

Meanwhile, according to the President's Cancer Panel, a whopping 41% of Americans - almost half the population - will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives. In 2009 alone, 562,000 Americans died from the disease.

© 2010 Guardian News and Media Limited

Sadhbh Walshe is a film-maker and former staff writer for the CBS drama series The District. Her opinion pieces have also been published in the Chicago Tribune and Irish Times.

MY Comments:

Think the EPA and the NJDEP are doing the job these agencies were supposedly created for 40 yrs. ago? Think again. They have been massively degraded themselves. Most of these so called Environmental protection agencies are nothing more then profit production facilities for thousands of Large Corps., most of them the very polluters they were created to regulate. Instead, our so called Gov't now lets many of these companies and BP is a good example essentially either self-regulate ( like marking your own test scores in school) or worse actually write the test and then mark it. Worse then that the test is pass/ fail and they get paid whether they pass or fail. This is really where the rubber meets the road with Corporatism folks. Here's were the disease KILLS us in huge and growing nos. The truth is just like so many other Gov't agencies designed to protect us the BIG $$ and it's legions of lobbyists and lawyers have gutted any protections long ago and replaced them with the opposite. Like AIDS the disease of corruption has now turned the very organs of Gov't designed to fight it against us. We are essentially defenseless and worse now. We have a Supreme Ct. that for the most part has told us in America $$ talks and BULLSHIT runs the Marathon. America is now essentially in the hands of the scammers and polluters and worse. The Gov't now is merely an appendage of BIG BIZ INC. Doesn't matter much which Corporatist candidate you vote for your only getting the same 80K chemicals in your lungs, stomach and breakfast cereal.

MAINTAIN PUBLIC ACCESS TO ALL BEACHES

AC CASINO BEACH BAR

@ the title link is a good article this morning in the Courier Post of NJ about beach access rules. Here @ the beach we are concerned that many communities along the Jersey Coast are using various methods and means to restrict public access to the beach and the ocean. Extremely high beach fees are an example, as well as restricting available parking and not providing any porta-potties or placing them so randomly that huge stretches of beach have no public facilities. We urge our local Mayors and City Commissions and councils NOT to use these methods. The GENERAL public has the right to use our beaches and have access. It's incredible to contemplate but our laws concerning this go all the way back to the Roman Emperor Justinian's code over 1500 years ago! We should not therefore be going in the opposite direction today and restricting access. The Casino beach Bar shown above is an example of just such a "bad" practice. This is an example where the town has essentially given a huge part of the beach to a private Corp. to exploit and charge people for access to the beach through the property that is PUBLIC no less. You cannot easily get to the Ocean through these facilities and frankly they have no business on the beach especially a so called public ally funded Beach Project dune. This is another example of the pernious so called Public / Private partnership AKA CORRUPTION. Nobody yet has seen the leases these properties are paying the City. WHY?

BEACH REPORT:

Margate's Commission Race Underway

As the election campaign in Margate gets underway it's already becoming obvious where the fault lines in the present city Administration are and have been almost from day one. The day when Commissions in Margate stuck to the old GOP "golden rule" that you don't fight in front of the children (voters) is long past. Nowadays, battles take place in public and I think this is a good thing. This idea that political , personal and policy decisions should be settled behind closed doors and the results presented to the rest of us is condescending nonsense. In fact the hallmark of a corrupt Administration is just such a presentation. Nevertheless, we watch as some in the community try and use this as an issue to attack their opponents. What an irony, right? Unfortunately, such hypocrisy and hectoring is standard fare for certain individuals and their political following. Those of us that believe it's every person's right to agree to disagree with another person's ideas , watch in horror as members of groups, such as, the so called Tea Party come to public meetings armed with weapons. They believe it appears in what 19th century German General Claus Von Clausewitz once was quoted as saying that " Warfare is merely the continuation of politics by "other" means." I don't agree. Warfare is about KILLING the enemy , period. " Politics is the art & science of Gov't and of guiding and or influencing governmental policy,or of winning and holding control over a government." Politics nevertheless, can be rough and tumble and sometimes people even God forbid, raise their voices. This might be annoying to some of us and personally I try to avoid it in public, but it's not necessarily always wrong. So, the big kurfluffel over a certain Commissioners tone of voice to another Commissioner has been blown way out of proportion to it's actual significance and is merely being used to try and politically frame this gentleman and characterize him as something he most certainly is not. The irony is that some of these individuals in question who are banging this bogus drum most certainly are just that Bully boyz. The real goal, as I have previously said, is to take this Commissioner out before the formal campaigns even begin in the fall. In racing terms these folks are positioning themselves for the starting bell.

Tables Games in Pa, Delaware make their debut

The AC Press reported in headlines today that AC's Casinos experienced another 11% drop in gross operating revenues even before the surrounding states PA, & Del. introduce table games to their Casino venues. The real reason AC is declining though is only partially do to the new competition. Sorry to say it, but AC is a toilet bowl of corruption and decay. The place looks atrocious. Casinos are no longer an attraction since they can be had everywhere. So, what else does the town have to offer? Hell, you can't even take a nice walk on the boards anymore since the morons that run the place tossed the ocean view and sea breezes into the bank accts. of a few politicians and their clients. Thanks guys hope you enjoy the campaign donations. From statements were hearing coming out of the State's new administration, it appears Gov. Christie and his gang has already basically written AC off. Who can blame him.

SCIENCE FRI: - EMP

The Star Fish Prime Hi Alt. Nuclear test in 1962 over the Pacific as seen from Hawaii 800 miles away.

@ the title link is a fascinating article explaining what EMP is and how it could effect us. There are many in the Defense community that fear that just such an attack is a possibility in the near future. Personally, I doubt it because anyone with the capability to do such a thing would leave behind significant foot prints and our defense establishment is hardened against such an attack. Of course there is no accounting for the actions of lunatics like Kim Il Sung of N. Korea and others. Nevertheless, it's a very lo probability that even he would do such a thing knowing what our response would be. The problem is our civilian infrastructure today isn't hardened at all against such an event. Like the recent OIL gusher private Industry and the Gov't have no plan B if such a thing does occur. So, even the remote possibility of such an attack is terrifying to contemplate because of it's drastic and immediate effects on our power grid, communications nets and all micro-electronic devices. The resulting failure of so many inter-connected systems and the chaos it would cause is a bit worrisome. Another possibility is a large solar flare and these do occur about twice a century and we haven't had one of a size significant enough to damage our grid in many decades. The problem here is the grid is much more vulnerable now because the huge transformers it's centered around are no longer made in the US and it would be these parts of the grid that would be destroyed or damaged in such an event. Anyway, the article is a good one and worth the read.