I was really starting to wonder when someone would have the courage to say this.  Unfortunately, DL’s show has been cancelled.  I hope Mr. Schaeffer’s views reach a wider audience.

NEO 2009 DD45 passed within 50,000 miles of Earth last week. I just thought it was a sort of carpe diem, ducks in a row, please don’t loot but feel free to have more sex alert. Unfortunately, we’re a bit too self absorbed for that kind of reaction.

Just a quick note to pass along to those looking for additional work or projects. O Desk is a website clearing house of sorts where you can work on projects from home for pay. I’ve done a few projects and was very satisfied with the results. Also, for those of you who have some artistic talent, you might also consider opening a CafePress store. You can design shirts and other products with little investment of money. I make about $100 to 150 per month off my store and though it is a small amount, it comes in really handy. Good luck to everyone out there!

I made this slideshow last week.  I had not made a video in about a year and hadn’t really been all that inspired to do so either but I heard this song while watching Deadliest Catch and was hooked…no pun intended.  The artist is Jon Heintz.

Dear Friends,

I spent this past weekend at Camp Obama with 150 of the most passionate men and women that I have ever had the honor or pleasure to meet.  These were people like you and I who have, over the last 8 years, watched our country’s reputation on the international stage plummet to a level that I never thought I would see in my lifetime.   These are people like you and I who have lost jobs, who have lost healthcare, who have lost a home or tragically lost a beloved son or daughter in a war that never should have happened.   These are people who are ready to stand for change.

I believe this country is at a crossroads in history where the mobilization of the American voter is the key element to reclaiming a Democratic victory in November.  I have dedicated myself to helping make this a reality.  There are 45 days left.

I need your help because this is a race where we have no choice.  This is a race we must win.

How you can help

• Volunteer your time in PA, we will transport you there and back.
• Host an organization meeting
• Host a debate party!
• Volunteer your board room or office for phone banking.
• Volunteer your contacts and pass along this message to others.
• Help me find lawyers, who want to volunteer their time on election day at the polls
• If you have family member in a battleground state that would like to house a field organizer like myself please let me know.
• Host a phone bank party
• Volunteer in the New York Office
• Volunteer to drive volunteer s to PA and other battleground states.

I invite you to stand with us and stand for CHANGE!

CONTACT:

Jacqueline Noguera

Field Organizer

Obama for America

jacqueline@jcnoguera.com

The Honorable Henry B. Gonzalez (D. TX) Courtesy The Center For American History

Curses!  Yet again my efforts to expand my compassionate and even syrupy post on frenemies that was sure to be the last word on the subject and indeed a cracking good read are thwarted by the events now known as Black Sunday and the continuing inherent idiocy of Wall Street.

There was a time and not so long ago that the government would have stepped in and demanded accountability.  60,000 workers worldwide now find that they are out of a job or in danger of losing their job with their retirement assets also in jeopardy.  And today, the DOW was down 500 points in response the fallout of the Lehman Brothers debacle and the Merrill Lynch sell off.  A day of reckoning to be sure and a day for the history books.

When I was wee I had the great good luck of serving as a congressional intern for the Honorable Henry B. Gonzalez (D. TX.)

Gonzalez was selected to chair the Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs Committee in 1989.  Under his leadership, the committee was able to enact several pieces of legislation favoring consumer groups, such as improved credit measures for small businesses, federal flood insurance reform, and increased accountability of the Federal Reserve.  In addition, Gonzalez pushed for strengthening anti-money laundering laws and harsher punishment for bank fraud and other financial crimes.

Throughout the 1980s, Gonzalez warned against the potential dangers of federal deregulation of the savings and loan industry and we see that in evidence today. After his prediction became a reality, he was given the task of structuring the bailout legislation. He accepted the assignment on the condition that those responsible, both in the private sector and their legislative supporters, be publicly recognized for their wrongdoing. His efforts resulted in pressure from a number of his fellow Democrats to resign, but Gonzalez remained true to his cause. In 1991 he was successful in reforming the federal deposit insurance system. During his tenure as chairman, Gonzalez earned a reputation for being a fair leader who allowed equitable participation in the creation of bills while reinforcing his legacy of championing the cause of ordinary people affected by legislation he oversaw.  Gonzalez gained national attention once again in 1992, when he investigated loans made from President George Bush and his colleague James Baker to Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.  His investigation showed the $3 billion loans supposedly designed to support Iraqi agricultural projects were actually spent for weapons development.  Gonzalez went on to oppose military action in the Persian Gulf during the 1991 Gulf War.  He even called for Bush’s impeachment on the grounds that through his previous financial support of Hussein the president had eliminated any chance of finding a peaceful resolution.

During his long congressional career, Gonzalez received numerous honors, including the National Alliance to End Homelessness Award, the Texas Civic Leadership Award, the B’Nai B’Rith National Humanitarian Award, the 1992 National Rural Housing Legislator of the Year and the 1994 Profile in Courage Award from the John F. Kennedy Foundation.

We won’t see his like for a long time to come I’m afraid.  We are stuck with a system that continues to spiral and heads in the sand at this point would be a disaster.  I can’t even bring myself to comment further.  But wait, I’ll try…  The Bush administration has been reckless in its handling of the finance industry.  The recent bail out of Bear Stearns and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should never have happened.  We need more regulation full stop.  It is the lack of regulation that caused this in the first place.   The capital rules are far too lax, and they still are. They may have made sense if you assumed perfectly liquid and smoothly functioning markets, but that is like saying a roof does not leak when it is sunny and mild.  That’s just bad business.  The Dick Fulds of the industry should now be hung up by their Buster Browns or Prada (s) as the case may be.

This being an election year I don’t trust a candidate like McCain who continues to tout the strength of the economy in the face of what is happening today.  Indeed,  shouldn’t the ability to send an email be at the very least the lowest common denominator for world leader?  I ask you.  Nevertheless, this development will test both candidates mettle to produce some real solutions.  After the lessons of the Great Depression have we learned nothing?

I know that if the old man were alive today he would have fallen out of his chair.

HURRICANE IKE – Watch LIVE Local Coverage FEEDS here

Tropical Storm Ike 2:00pm Courtesy Accuweather

Corpus Christi dodged a bullet but no complaints on that from the folks in the lower coastal bend.  Apart from the expected storm surge, some areas of Corpus Christi will remain hot and dry (in the 90’s), today after the landfall of Hurricane Ike.  Ike, now a tropical storm is moving North and away from the coast though the eastern gulf and into Louisiana will see a  heavy rainfall and tornado threat for the next 24 hours.

The storm at its peak was larger than Hurricane Katrina when it churned through the Gulf of Mexico in 2005.

Ike is moving toward the north. A turn towards the northeast is expected over the balance of the weekend with an increase in forward speed. The center of Ike is expected to move through eastern and northeastern Texas this afternoon and into the Midwest Sunday.

Additional wind gusts include:

• Sabine Pass, La.: 86 mph
• Freeport, Texas: 87 mph
• Port Arthur, Texas: 95 mph
• Lake Charles, La.: 77 mph
• Huntsville, Texas: 58 mph

The strength of the storm and the damage it has caused prevented firefighters from reaching multiple fires burning in Galveston and Houston.

Power is out along the Gulf Coast. CNN reported that 1.8 million customers of CenterPoint Energy in metropolitan Houston are without power, while the Louisiana Public Service Commission reports that more than 100,000 customers are without electricity, including some customers who lost power during Gustav.
A total of 2.9 million people had lost power from Ike at some point Friday into Saturday. It could be weeks before power is restored in all areas.

Over a million people evacuated the Gulf Coast before Ike made landfall and the authorities estimated that more than 100,000 people throughout the region, including 24,000 in Galveston, had disregarded mandatory evacuation orders.

Damage estimates according to the Houston Chronicle will top 18 billion dollars.

Waves from Ike crash against the memorial of the 1900 hurricane Courtesy Houston Chronicle

Hurricane Ike - 7:30 PM EDT Courtesy Accuweather

This storm is going to change very quickly over the next few hours and things have changed quite a bit in the last 24 hours.  Ike is pickng up speed as it comes ashore and is now predicted to make landfall MUCH earlier than previously predicted.  Not early Saturday morning but perhaps within the next few hours well before midnight as it is only 110 miles now off the coast of Galveston and the Bolivar Peninsula.   The peninsula looks to take the full brunt of the storm as it is in the way of the very powerful Northeast Quadrant of the storm which historically is the most dangerous part of any hurricane.

I got an email from a subscriber this afternoon about storm surge.

“Why are they (the media) saying that the storm surge in Galveston will be over 20 feet but further down the coast only up to 7 feet.  Why is it so different even though it’s within a 20 mile area?”

First, thanks for your very adroit question and second, the reason is simply geography.  As in tsunami conditions, as the waves come in the water is coming up the continental shelf. Therefore you’ll see greater damage where there is less resistance e.g. where the shelf has a longer sloping, gentle grade.

That storm surge will be much greater and catastrophic in destruction than where the shelf has a sharper drop off.

That’s one reason.  Another reason is in this case parts of the Houston area could see CAT 4 style storm surge because the land is low lying (bayou wetland areas) and indeed at a lower elevation than at seaside.  In addition, coastal communities south of the Houston area down the coast will not receive as much of a punch from the wind as from the eye landfall area and the Northeast Quadrant.  The eye is roughly 75 miles wide at present.

According to the latest reports from KHOU in Houston, there are more than 24,000 folks that stayed to ride out the storm on Galveston Island.  Hurricane force winds should begin to hit the island by 6:00 pm CDT this evening and going through the night until daybreak.  When will it end?  The current prediction is sometime Saturday afternoon.