I am the light that shines in the darkness.





Sun 6.20


The oil spill:

Everybody's in an uproar, but no one is talking about the real problem, the real situation. You know what I think? Every species we destroy brings us closer to our own last goodbye. Losing the polar bear is a major disaster for our species. But it isn't just the polar bear, it is everything that maintained its life and also every life form that fed off the bear; you can see where this chain is leading; everything is interconnected. What's happening in the Gulf is really bad, and the president is wrong to say this will take months or even a few years to make right. No, some of it is never coming back, and what comes back will not measure up to what's been lost. How many species of birds, fish and animals will be lost, and what of the gulf itself and the ocean? Millions of gallons of oil spewing forth everyday is impossible to clean all up.

Government at this point has become so corrupt as to be worst than useless to us. What good does it do to bring CEO's before congressional committees after the fact? Remember Don Blakenship, the Massey Energy CEO of the Upper Big Branch mine that lost 12 miners last April? He was raked through the coals too (pun intended). I'm willing to bet business continues as usual in the mining industry today, and he's doing just fine, thank you. Just like BP will go on, and Mr. Tony Hayward will sail his yacht out into the sunset, glass of champagne in hand.

These CEO's are rightly insulted that government turns on them in their time of calamity. Let us not pretend that you don't know what is going on, after all the money we have given you, they surely are thinking. It's true. Has Obama put a halt to offshore drilling because of this disaster? No, no, as a matter of fact he had just revived it after a long moratorium. Blakenship acknowledged that there were violations at the Upper Big Branch, but also that every mine operating in the country had ongoing violations. It couldn't be avoided; it was the price of doing business. One of the CEO's from ExxonMobil essentially said the same thing, when he acknowledged that "When these things happen, we are not very well equipped to deal with them.''

The government allows these corporations free reign, until the situation gets out of hand. And when that happens, the president asks to be reimbursed for the clean up, but as time goes on, doesn't force the issue, and as Alaska learned from its spill, the oil corporations walk. There are no good guys here, except for those trying to save the animals and birds. The environmental damage comes down to dollars and cents for Obama concerned about upcoming elections. He doesn't want the "small people" to turn on him if they perceive they will have to pay for yet another bailout.

Meanwhile, in Louisiana, they have started praying, as it is the only solution they can muster against forces too big to fail.

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Current favorite this past month has been And To Love