Come On Sense

By Dawn House
The Salt Lake Tribune

A Utah man, whose Alaskan fishing career ended with the Exxon oil disaster 20 years ago, says the Gulf Coast spill will ruin the livelihoods of thousands of other people who make money off the land and the sea. (more…)

By Michael Newsom
Biloxi Sun Herald

JACKSON, Miss. — Officials from BP, Halliburton and Transocean have declined to attend hearings on the Gulf of Mexico oil leak scheduled for this week by Mississippi’s House of Representatives. (more…)

By Jia Lynn Yang
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, June 8, 2010; 10:46 AM

A panel studying the financial crisis has subpoenaed Goldman Sachs, accusing the bank of being uncooperative and dealing another blow to the firm’s credibility in Washington. (more…)

Dr. Earl R. Smith II
DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com
www.Dr-Smith.com

I am a child of the 60’s – a baby boomer from one of the earliest waves in that set. I came of age in the 60’s. In those days, it didn’t take much to set us off. If government got us entangled with a stupid foreign war, we protested and kept on escalating the protests until Washington was forced to declare victory and retreat. When we came fact-to-face with the social injustice of racism and apartheid, we got in line and helped push through changes. In those days, we epitomized the understanding of Emerson and Thoreau – that government was necessary but a dangerous fellow traveler who had to be watched carefully and kept under constant control. We understood that business was necessary but, if left to its own devices, would quickly turn predatory and consume us all. At our core, we were determined to control out times rather than be controlled by them. That was then – but what is now? (more…)

If you ever had trouble understanding why Washington is so disconnected and irrelevant, Michael Shear shows you in high relief. People are losing their livelihoods – some will surely die, the Gulf is under attack by a murderous oil spill. Americans are coming to understand that, even though the Supreme Court tells us they are citizens with full rights beyond the ordinary Americans, corporations are not our friends. And what to these jerk-offs focus on? Wringing political gain out of an American tragedy. How does the old saying go? “If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.” Or maybe this one is better – “lead, follow or get the hell out of the way!”

By Michael D. Shear
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, June 4, 2010; 9:26 AM

As President Obama heads to the Gulf Friday for his third oil-spill visit, his most ardent critics back in Washington will be stirring up trouble. (more…)

The hardest part about what is going on in the Gulf of Mexico is the slaughter of the innocent. None of these animals deserve what has happened to them. Do you really believe that humans have the right to do this? What god would sanction it? The people who committed this obscenity should rot in hell!

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About this talk: In this bracing talk, coral reef ecologist Jeremy Jackson lays out the shocking state of the ocean today: over-fished, overheated, polluted, with indicators that things will get much worse. Astonishing photos and stats make the case.

About Jeremy Jackson: A leader in the study of the ecology and evolution of marine organisms, Jeremy Jackson is known for his deep understanding of geological time. (more…)

By R. Jeffrey Smith
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Minority Leader John A. Boehner has collected more than $1.4 million from business interests this election cycle for a committee he says he created to help fellow Republican lawmakers. But Boehner’s committee has spent only about a third of its money helping other candidates. (more…)

Tea Party’s Push on Senate Election Exposes Limits
New York Times
By MATT BAI
Published: June 1, 2010

Until recently, hardly anyone ever bothered with the 17th Amendment to the Constitution, which, if you don’t know, is the one that gives you the right to vote for your United States senator, rather than allowing state legislators to choose a senator for you. But then came the rise of the Tea Party movement, whose members in several states have been calling for repeal of the amendment — and making something of a political mess in the process. (more…)

By Jim Davenport, Associated Press Writer
Published: Tuesday, May 25, 2010 4:16 AM CDT
GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP)

A year ago, it was Gov. Mark Sanford’s tearful confession of secretly skipping out of the country to rendezvous with an Argentine woman he called his soul mate. On Monday, it was a political blogger’s claim of an affair with a rising star in the governor’s race: state Rep. Nikki Haley. Three years ago, it was the state treasurer whose affinity for cocaine had him facing federal charges and prison time. (more…)