another fine mess...

The pristine Gulf Coast is no longer (pristine, that is...).

We have BP (the former British Petroleum) to thank for this catastrophe.

Eleven died in the accident and approximately one hundred workers escaped the initial explosion. Nearly 5,000 barrels of crude are spilling into the gulf daily, creating a problem for the gulf states and the eastern coast of Mexico. The cataclysmic destruction to the environment is potentially worse than the damage done to Prince William Sound, Alaska in 1989.

Think about this for a moment. The spill from the Exxon Valdez (nearly 11 million U.S. gallons) into the Prince William Sound devastated not just the area, it also destroyed the livelihoods of many fishermen and native Alaskans.

Worst, this spill destroyed a huge swath of wildlife in the vicinity including as many as 250,000 seabirds, numerous sea and river otters, seals, orca whales and enormous numbers of salmon and herring. This was the immediate destruction from the Valdez. The long-term destruction is still felt, and not just economically. Wildlife populations devastated in the immediate spill, have not made a comeback and will probably feel the effects for quite some time.

Exxon/Mobil on the other hand, has never really paid for the extensive destruction to this region, and quite possibly, never will. In Baker v. Exxon, the jury awarded $287 million for actual damages and $5 billion for punitive damages. However, in appeals (2006), the damages award was trimmed to $2.5 billion. Exxon again appealed, the case went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court which ultimately remanded the case back to a lower court after vacating the damages award. (for further information, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exxon_Valdez_oil_spill)

And so, insanity continues to prevail.

The official position still held by Exxon is this was an "accident" therefore the punitive award was fundamentally unjustified.

I cannot wait to hear the justification for the latest "accident" in the Gulf Coast area. Already the fingers are pointing elsewhere.

Stay tuned.

AP photo

let the perp walk begin...

I was going to write about the state of Arizona passing some really ugly, racist legislation, bordering on insane legislation, but suddenly, the Senate hearings with Goldman Sachs employees came to light and I couldn’t let it slide.

Tactics used by Goldman Sachs to bilk shareholders out of millions of dollars confound the sensibilities but even worse, these guys fail to understand why this is even an issue.

Senator Carl Levin’s remark “How about the fact that you sold hundreds of millions of that deal after your people knew it was a [EXPLETIVE DELETED] deal? Does that bother you at all?” seems to have fallen on deaf ears during the hearing.

Ever watch the movie Wall Street? Remember the famous (or perhaps infamous line) uttered by Michael Douglas’ character, Gordon Gekko “Greed is good.”

We’re now living it...

Fabrice Tourre, executive director, Structured Products Group Trading also commented during the Senate hearings “I deny categorically the SEC’s allegations, and I will defend myself in court against this false claim.”

Well, bravo, Tourre. A number of people are wondering when the fat cats are going to pony up their share of the profits to help “Main Street.” Care to toss a few million into the pot?  

The spillover into every facet of American life has only begun. Even worse, the global spillover has brought many a state to it’s knees... Greece’s economy is currently trashed and quite possibly Greece will not repay 411 billion U.S. dollars worth of debt hidden by tricky accounting. Now more countries are caught in the same web. Portugal, Ireland, Italy and Spain are also facing budget crises which potentially could cause another worldwide credit freeze.

This crisis occurred because a few investment firms decided to ramp up the greed factor.

Way to go, Wall Street! To those Senators in charge of the hearings... let the perp walk begin.

let's talk healthcare

Like many, I am getting to the age where things on my body (legs, arms... I think you get it... ) do not seem to work as well as they once did. This is a disturbing turn of events that makes me realize this is the flip side of getting up in years.

I’ve started to think about health care and health care statistics.

Last summer there was a loud ruckus around the health care issue, but given approximately 45,000 people die every year in this country due to a lack of health care, I think any move toward reform legislation was a significant leap forward. According to Harvard professor, Dr. David Himmelstein, more people die from this lack of coverage than drunk driving or homicides combined.

But let me bring it closer to home.

My father died from a lack of health coverage. He gave every one of his children the best he could, but did not give himself the same. When I was eighteen, my appendix burst and I was hospitalized for nearly a month. Much later I discovered my father paid every last cent he owed the hospital and surgeon for my really excellent care. He lacked the finances to provide his children with health insurance, but he worked to provide for our needs.

A similar study to the one recently published by the Harvard group found in 1993 that those individuals without insurance had a 25 percent greater risk of death. The Institute of Medicine later used that data in its 2002 estimate showing about 18,000 people a year died because they lacked coverage. Now we're up to roughly 45,000 dying prematurely due to a lack of insurance. 

My father was one of those statistics. And to those who argue that we should continue to accept the restrictions placed on basic health care by insurers, I say “enough.” I would have loved to have my father around for many more years than he was, and if he’d had even basic coverage, this probably would have been the case.

He once promised my niece he would be around to dance at her wedding.

He failed to live up to the promise.

comments on tax day...

On April 15, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln died after being shot the previous evening by southern fanatic John Wilkes Booth, while attending a play at the Ford Theater in Washington, DC.

For those of us who pay attention, April 15th is also the day we pay our fair share of the commons (taxes).

Somewhere, there is an irony.

Americans do pay their taxes except the uber wealthy who pay very little or no taxes. When they do, it's at a much lower rate than the majority of taxpayers. In fact, they pay approximately 16% to our 28% plus. Why? you might ask... Well, because of their stupendous wealth, they can lobby Congress where the rest of us don't have the same capability. Case in point: the McCourt divorce proceedings currently underway in the Los Angeles court system. Frank and Jamie McCourt purchased the Dodger franchise from Rupert Murdoch (former Australian, insanely wealthy vendor of FOX garbage television). The McCourts have paid next to nothing in taxes for quite awhile (which has been well-documented in the proceedings). Nor has the uber wealthy Mr. Murdoch paid his fair share into our tax system.

Do the wealthy use the same "commons" as the rest of America?

You betcha!...

But because of the skewed system now in place, they're allowed to skate within and around the system (laughing all the way to the bank). Meanwhile, the rest of us are left holding the bag.

Perhaps if "teabaggers" demonstrating against the current administration fully grasped who the real villians were... the "taxation without representation" demonstrations would cease or change direction... toward the Wall Street thieves and those among us who have no problem scamming the system, but refuse to pay for the privilege of living in America.

As we ponder the direction of our country, I believe we should also pause to reflect on the  achievements of the Lincoln legacy, which ended so abruptly on April 15th.

illustration originally published by Harper's Weekly May 6, 1865

balboa lake park, thursday evening

Let's face it... the ducks in Balboa Lake Park have it made.

They hang out in the man-made mini lakes and wait for the tourists to come along and feed them. I forgot this rule and brought no food along.

They seemed not to care, in fact, they completely ignored me as I wandered around looking for a decent shot.

A small creek resides on the opposite side of the road. Small is a relative word.

To me, it's a puny creek...

But there was life springing from a hole in the side of the rock on the shoreline, as well as small animal tracks leading from the water's edge.

And, of course, there was the urban-related tagging, a sure sign that there are many disparate animals using park facilities.

the house that dad built/part one

This is the house my father built. It was a wee bit different when we lived here.

There was a small blue spruce in the front yard which, alas no longer exists. The driveway in the front was placed by the people who purchased the house. But this driveway seems odd as there is another driveway and garage in the back as well.

My sister and I occupied the upstairs front bedroom (the dormer window on the left) and one night I escaped (via ladder) to go to a school dance with some friends. Of course I was caught sneaking back up the ladder and knew I was in deep trouble because my father used my entire name.

You know it's all downhill when the parents catch you in the act.

Nevertheless, it was a fabulous house. The yard used to extend from the road (on the left) to the fence on the right. We would play football in the front with the neighborhood boys. Rather, I would play, but only when my mother wasn't around, otherwise she would find something for me to do elsewhere. It also fell to me to mow the yard (actually I borrowed the chore from one of my brothers because it was such an enjoyable task). To this day, many years removed, I still enjoy mowing the lawn, smelling the freshly cut grass and cleaning the green off my shoes.

In the winter, we would go skating down on the frozen creek... in the summer we would skinny dip in the same creek, keeping an eye out for the occasional copperhead sunning along the rocky bank. I know the creek still exists, but the neighborhood has radically changed in the time since we moved away.

Many of the parents of friends have since died. Now we are the parents.

But, when we lived here, it was a wonderful place and time.

shades of gray...

When people think of Santa Monica, they usually think beautiful beaches, blue skies and deeply tanned bodies inhabiting the sands.

There is another Santa Monica, the flat, dull gray Santa Monica seen only in springtime.

As we drove into the city to watch the marathon, I wandered over to the edge of the cliff and discovered this sight...  where the sky kissed the sea.

It wasn't late in the day, rather it was about mid-afternoon so this was an amazing sight, something normally seen much later in the evening.

The haze never completely burned off, and there was a chill coming off the ocean that seemed to go right through ones' bones.

Still, it was beautiful in it's bleakness.

ode to a friend

Yesterday we put our dog to sleep. It was by no means an easy task.

However, I do believe she decided it was time to go...

I awakened early, went down to say good morning to Grover and start my day.

She was not getting up, nor was she greeting me with her usual barking frenzy... letting me know it was time to open the back door so she could go outside and do her business.

I showered, put some clothes on and got the laundry ready. Then I went to feed Grover. She was splayed out on the floor, which concerned me a bit. I helped her up and she looked a bit tipsy... like a drunken sailor on a wave-tossed boat. As I placed her food in the dish and set it down, she wobbled over to eat, and promptly dropped to the floor but still managed to pull the food to her mouth.

Ok, not so good, I thought.

I got her outside to do her business, helping her down the stairs. As she stepped down, I held her backside, going a stair at a time. I then cleaned up the droppings from yesterday, and waited for her to finish so I could help her back up the stairs.

Perhaps I should back up a bit. The night before, I had come to the conclusion it was time to have the "talk" about Grover, and when was a good time to end her suffering which had apparently started in earnest. I thought the time was coming much too quickly.

My roommate was unable to make the decision because Grover was, for all intents and purposes, her dog. Or, maybe even more descriptive... her "bud." I was really only the occasional "mom," like when someone needed to feed her, or clean up after her...

We had gotten two dogs at the same time, many years back and I had already gone through a similar situation with my dog, Bonnie. When the time came to make end of life decisions, I was devastated by the prospect, but knew it was cruel to allow her to lose her ability to walk without toppling over every few steps. However, realizing euthanasia was the best thing to do, and actually doing it was another matter altogether.

We were in the room when the drug was administered that would stop Bonnie's heart, and as she slipped away, I thought my heart would break. Perhaps it was not the most comforting experience but it was the most humane way to end her life.

We should have been a little more prepared but I'm not sure anyone is prepared for this eventuality even though it's part of the circle of life.

I must say, Grover looked like she was ready to go... like it was a good day to say goodbye and move on. She laid there quietly, surprising because her entire life had been a series of leaps and licks for anyone who wandered into her "space."

We held her and comforted her and she slipped away very quickly and peacefully.

So, I say goodbye to you, my old friend. Despite the disagreements you had with Bonnie, I hope you had a good life. You were a treasured member of our family and we will miss you and the loudest bark I have ever heard on a dog your size.

nobody walks in l.a.

It's true... well almost...

I met a friend for dinner last night and was pleasantly surprised to see numerous people walking the streets in Los Feliz given the late hour (roughly 11 pm). This is a relatively new trend, and hopefully will increase in popularity, especially if gas prices continue to rise.

A couple of weeks ago the Los Angeles Marathon came through town and since I volunteered to distribute water with a bunch of friends at mile 25, I saw a number of people of all shapes and sizes coming through on their way to the finish line (about a mile from where we stood).

Kudos to all those who start and finish!

kinda freaky weather

Again with the clouds. It's virtually impossible to concentrate at work because it's been so clear and clean outside.

The wind certainly helps by blowing the smog elsewhere. However, this has been truly bizarre weather lately. It leaps from hyper hot to so cold at night, it feels like it's time to pull out the flannel pjs. This time last week it was so warm, I was walking around the 'hood sans jacket. Now I'm uncomfortably cold.

How quickly it all changes.

But, heck no, there's no climate change happening on the planet... is there? Oh, wait, isn't today April Fools Day? I guess this is the reason for the freaky weather.