The Rooster
"Okeydoke"
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Secretary Ray Lahood a person of conscience. No more distracted driving ! (The Blog click title to entry - thank you.)
What is happening with a change in fuel sources? Biodiesel? Ethanol?
DOT 104-10
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Nearly $80 Million in High-Speed Rail Funds Delivered to States
Vice President Biden Praises First Round of Grants
The U.S. Department of Transportation today announced that nearly $80 million in grants have been delivered to states as part of President Obama's historic high-speed and intercity passenger rail program. These grants will go toward the development of a brand new Recovery Act funded high-speed rail system in Florida as well as critical upgrades to existing passenger rail service throughout the country.
"Delivering these funds is an important step forward in our efforts to upgrade and transform America's transportation system, while spurring economic activity and creating jobs here at home," said Vice President Joe Biden. "Our unprecedented investment in high-speed and intercity passenger rail is not only going to provide real environmental benefits and greater convenience for travelers, but also long-term economic development for communities across the country."
"The President's vision for high-speed rail will forever change the way Americans travel by offering new transportation options," said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "The grants released today are merely the very beginning of many more to follow."
http://www.dot.gov/affairs/2010/dot10410.htm
Funding doubled for bicycling, walking projects
By JOAN LOWY (AP) – 3 days ago
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration more than doubled transportation spending on bicycling and walking last year as it seeks to coax Americans out of their cars, according to a Federal Highway Administration report released Wednesday.
Spending on biking and walking projects rose from less than $600 million in 2008 to $1.2 billion in 2009. Twenty years ago, the federal government was spending only $6 million a year on such projects.
The spending on biking and walking projects was scheduled to rise last year anyway, but the administration boosted it with $400 million in funds set aside under the economic recovery program.
The new focus on biking and walking represents a turnaround from the administration of President George W. Bush. Mary Peters, transportation secretary under Bush, dismissed biking paths and trails as projects that "really are not transportation," saying they had no place in federal transportation policy.
In March, Obama's transportation secretary, Ray LaHood, announced a policy "sea change" that gives biking and walking projects the same importance as automobiles in transportation planning and the selection of projects for federal money.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iC5PCOTxzMe22vlNbr2qCfzFz8ygD9GCHUT00
Shaun Who? I have never read one article on this Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Scary. An entire Cabinet Secretary is invisible to the USA media. Wiw.
So, what has he been up to?
HUD CHARGES NEW HAMPSHIRE LANDLORD WITH DISCRIMINATING AGAINST INTERETHNIC COUPLE
Owner allegedly harassed family because of Hispanic husband
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today announced that it is charging a Monroe, New Hampshire, landlord with violating the Fair Housing Act for harassment of tenants who are an interethnic couple. According to HUD’s charge, landlord Lothar Riba told a female tenant that he didn’t think it was appropriate for her to be married to a “Spanish guy.”
HUD alleges that Riba harassed and threatened the family by monitoring and photographing their activity, removing their apartment’s window handles, and physically assaulting and injuring the wife. Riba allegedly told the wife that she should get her “monkey” family off of his property and that her Hispanic sister in-law could not visit, remarking, “If one comes, they all start coming like a bunch of cockroaches.”...
http://portal.hud.gov/portal/page/portal/HUD/press/press_releases_media_advisories/2010/HUDNo.10-128
HUD TO HELP NEARLY 1,300 HOMELESS VETERANS FIND PERMANENT HOMES
Additional $7.5 million allows HUD to help total of 9,000 homeless vets
WASHINGTON – U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan announced today $7.5 million in additional funding to allow local housing agencies to provide a permanent home for 1,255 homeless veterans. The funding is provided through a second round of grants under HUD’s Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing Program (HUD-VASH) program.
Working closely with local Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Centers, local public housing agencies will target these grants specifically to homeless veterans in their area. Earlier this month, HUD announced $58.6 million in HUD-VASH grants to provide 7,500 vouchers for homeless veterans. For a local breakdown of the vouchers announced today, visit HUD’s website.
http://portal.hud.gov/portal/page/portal/HUD/press/press_releases_media_advisories/2010/HUDNo.10-127
HUD AWARDS $2.3 BILLION TO MORE THAN 3,000 PUBLIC HOUSING AUTHORITIES TO IMPROVE, PRESERVE PUBLIC HOUSING ACROSS THE U.S.
WASHINGTON – U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan today awarded more than $2.3 billion to 3,131 public housing authorities across the U.S, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The funds will allow these agencies to make major capital improvements to their public housing units. To view the full list of grantees, visit HUD’s website.
“Housing authorities will add this funding to the $4 billion from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 they received last year to continue addressing long-standing capital improvements that public housing communities need,” said Donovan. “This funding will also stimulate the economy and create jobs in these communities.”
http://portal.hud.gov/portal/page/portal/HUD/press/press_releases_media_advisories/2010/HUDNo.10-126
Looks like Shaun still has a lot of work to do.
Nation's economic collapse triggers rise in homeless families, report says
By TONY PUGH
McClatchy Newspapers
Record job losses and foreclosures helped push more than 170,000 families into homeless shelters in 2009, up nearly 30 percent since 2007 when the recession first gripped the nation, a government report released Wednesday shows.
While the total number of homeless people on any given night fell by 5 percent from 2008 to 2009, the number of homeless families increased for the second straight year, according to the 2009 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress prepared by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
"Throughout the course of a year, approximately 1.56 million people found themselves without a place to call home," said Mercedes Marquez, HUD assistant secretary for community planning and development.
http://www.kansascity.com/2010/06/16/2022583/nations-economic-collapse-triggers.html
Secretary Janet Napolitano - Homeland Security
Talk about Baptism by Fire. Wow. I fully expected an al Qaeda attack of some sort during this President's first year. It happened with Clinton, then Bush and I was just waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Then came The Christmas Underwear Bomber. Since that didn't work, the Times Square bomber was recruited into a failed attempt.
It would seem as though Homeland Security doesn't get a break, even from those that would assassinate police at the Holocaust Museum.
FIGHTING home-grown terrorism by monitoring internet communications is a civil liberties trade-off the US government must make to beef up national security, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said.
As terrorists increasingly recruit US citizens, the government needs to balance civil rights and privacy with the need to keep people safe, she said. But finding that balance has become more complex as people have used the internet to reach out to extremists abroad for inspiration and training. Those contacts have spurred a recent rash of US-based terrorism incidents.
Ms Napolitano said it was wrong to believe liberty was sacrificed if security was embraced, and pointed to restrictions on full-body scanners at airports to protect privacy.
http://www.smh.com.au/world/privacy-tradeoff-20100619-ynwi.html
Yemen Arrests French National for Al-Qaida Links
VOA News
06 June 2010
Yemeni security officials say authorities have arrested a French national on suspicion of having links to al-Qaida.
Officials said Sunday authorities detained Jeremy Johnny Witter in late May in the capital, Sanaa.
Investigators say he was studying at the Sanaa Institute for Arabic Language - the same school attended by a Nigerian man, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, arrested for trying to blow up a U.S. airliner on Christmas Day (December 25).
Yemeni authorities have arrested dozens of foreigners on suspicion of al-Qaida links since the failed Christmas Day bombing, including at least one American and one Briton.
http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/middle-east/Yemen-Arrests-French-National-for-Al-Qaida-Links-95724384.html
I realize what this is all about, but, the real solution is ending the hatred by Islam and removing the USA as a threat to their countries.
Airport whole-body scans called vital by Napolitano
Machines' use to continue, says Homeland chief
By ALAN BLINDER
WASHINGTON BUREAU
June 19, 2010, 1:58AM
WASHINGTON — Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Friday that controversial whole-body imaging technology is necessary to combat terrorists who continue to target airliners.
"The reality is simple: Al-Qaida and other terrorist groups continue to target commercial aviation," Napolitano said in a speech to the American Constitution Society. She added that the groups have sought to use explosives that do not contain metal and, therefore, do not set off alarms at metal detectors.
"Weapons and explosives have become harder to detect," Napolitano said....
Arne Duncan became Secretary of Education on President Obama's Inauguration Day.
Photo: Dean la Prairie
Faced with a underfunded educational effort called, "No Child Left Behind," Arne Dunkin has an opportunity to revitalize the federal effort for the USA. He developed a program called, "Race To the Top." It received $100 billion from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The commitment by the Obama Administration for transparency was carried out by Secretary Duncan in publishing the applications and scorecards for participating states in "Race to the Top." (click here)
The program is a reform standard that required participating states adoption minimum standards to all their schools. It has been mostly successful in bring a single American standard to the country.
...Forty-six states and the District of Columbia today will announce an effort to craft a single vision for what children should learn each year from kindergarten through high school graduation, an unprecedented step toward a uniform definition of success in American schools....
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/31/AR2009053102339.html
It provided an opportunity to unite the country under a standard of excellance. The states were scored on their efforts to achieve excellence in their school systems. There is currently a second round to "Race to the Top," but the first round proved to be interesting to most administrators. In trying to acheive excellence there were changes made to assessing the success of teachers and in some states it meant offering more opportunity for Charter Schools.
Common Education Standards will prevent corruption and promote democracy as a country that cares about all its children equally.
States should adopt common education standards
ON NATIONAL EDUCATION STANDARDS
March 15, 2010
As the world shrinks, few things have become more important than a flexible, portable education. Elementary school students in California may find themselves one day working in Rhode Island or Russia - and they'll need to start learning the skills that will take them anywhere right now.
That's the thinking behind the Common Core Standards for English and math, which were released in draft form last week. The standards, which were created by the Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Governors Association with encouragement from the Obama administration, may become national benchmarks for all K-12 students. The draft standards are the product of almost a year's worth of work, and they're open for public comment through April 2.
http://articles.sfgate.com/2010-03-15/opinion/18831644_1_standards-aim-common-core-standards-draft-standards
In his confirmation hearings, Duncan called education "the most pressing issue facing America," adding that "preparing young people for success in life is not just a moral obligation of society" but also an "economic imperative." "Education is also the civil rights issue of our generation," he said, "the only sure path out of poverty and the only way to achieve a more equal and just society." Duncan expressed his commitment to work under the leadership of President Obama and with all those involved in education "to enhance education in America, to lift our children and families out of poverty, to help our students learn to contribute to the civility of our great American democracy, and to strengthen our economy by producing a workforce that can make us as competitive as possible."
The remaining high profile military of the Obama Defense Department is Admiral Thad Allen.
It has been stated over and over that Admiral Allen is in control of the circumstances surrounding the BP damage to the USA coast.
...“We’re working very closely with British Petroleum,” he said. “BP laid out and we’ve approved where they are headed right now to bring in needed capacity. And under the current containment cap that sits on the well head by bringing additional vessels in and being able to draw oil off the choke and the kill lines and produce that on the surface, we expect to get to a capacity of around 53,000 barrels a day by the end of June.”...
Admiral Than Allen
Short of seeking a subterrainian explosion of the oil well, I don't know anything that was not done by this Admiral of the USA Coast Guard.
He was more than a valuable asset for the USA during the response to Hurricane Katrina emergency and he is proving to be a leader that can get the job done with the Gulf Oil disaster.
I sincerely believe the USA legislature owes Admiral Allen an apology for allowing such 'runaway' incidents the potential to occur. One thing is true of the USA military, they respond to the needs of their country, and on a rare occassion are they asked what needs to be done to avert multi-billion dollar costs to the nation.
The response by the USA military was 'spot on.' They did nothing wrong and as soon as it was preceived to be an incident of national security, the military was taking action to secure the nation. As the website at the title to this entry shows, the Coast Guard has anticipated every adverse outcome including hurricane impacts on the very unstable oil rupture in the Gulf of Mexico.
I thank Admiral Allen for a dedicated and life long service to his country and spotless response to the Gulf Crisis.
Allen: Progress being made on containment
By Curt Chapman
Staff Writer
(Created: Saturday, June 19, 2010 4:05 PM CDT)
FAIRHOPE, Ala. — National Incident Commander Adm. Thad Allen said Thursday that BP continues making progress in its effort to contain oil rushing from the floor of the Gulf of Mexico, where the Deepwater Horizon platform exploded and sank in late April. Discussing meetings he and Obama administration officials held with oil company executives, Allen said recovery capacity is increasing.
“As of (Wednesday), we have the added capacity now what we call the Q4000 mobile drilling units on scene. It is actually drawing oil up through the kill pipe. That’s where we actually sent the mud down during the top kill operation. We’re actually using that as a way to evacuate more oil out in addition to what’s being produced by the Discover Enterprise.
Allen said once both resources are fully operational, crews could potentially bring up as much as 28,000 barrels a day. He noted the rates will be brought up slowly to make sure the pressure can be controlled, but added it won’t stop there.
He said, “We’ll look at, further down the line, the ability to actually transfer that oil ashore and actually offload it. But for now, it’s giving us several thousand more barrels a day capacity and that’s several thousand barrels a day that’s not going into the environment.
Allen said BP has been ordered to increase redundancy and capacity of the containment operations....
http://www.baldwincountynow.com/articles/2010/06/19/local_news/doc4c1bd7b4eb0d8830946991.txt
"Big Yellow Taxi" by Joni Mitchell
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
With a pink hotel, a boutique
And a swinging hot spot
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got
Till it's gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
They took all the trees
Put 'em in a tree museum
And they charged the people
A dollar and a half just to see 'em
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got
Till it's gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
Hey farmer farmer
Put away the D.D.T. now
Give me spots on my apples
But leave me the birds and the bees
Please!
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got
Till it's gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
Late last night
I heard my screen door slam
And a big yellow taxi
Took away my old man
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got
Till it's gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
I said don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got
Till it's gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
And put up a parking lot
With a pink hotel, a boutique
And a swinging hot spot
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got
Till it's gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
They took all the trees
Put 'em in a tree museum
And they charged the people
A dollar and a half just to see 'em
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got
Till it's gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
Hey farmer farmer
Put away the D.D.T. now
Give me spots on my apples
But leave me the birds and the bees
Please!
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got
Till it's gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
Late last night
I heard my screen door slam
And a big yellow taxi
Took away my old man
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got
Till it's gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
I said don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got
Till it's gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
Everyone wants something to worry about, then worry about this. The reality of what can REALLY go wrong is more than an incentive to end offshore drilling.
Oil spill containment efforts could be putting strain on damaged well
Published: Friday, June 18, 2010, 7:57 PM
Updated: Friday, June 18, 2010, 8:12 PM
...In a well of questionable design with a questionable cement job that's gone through a major explosion, too much pressure on the well, could trigger a rupture, sending oil pushing through fissures in the rock of the ocean floor and bubbling up through the seabed, where it can't be contained.
That's why BP abruptly stopped the "top kill" efforts to seal the well May 28 after the company previously had said the procedure would continue for a few more days. It's also why the company is continuing with efforts to contain the oil flowing out of the well rather than seal the well outright by adding another blowout preventer on top of the malfunctioning one. It's also one reason why the containment cap that's currently capturing oil has vents in the side that allow pressure to escape....
George W. Bush game people the sniffles according to Brother Jeb in understanding the economic collapse and pundits. Click title to entry for video.
Like his brother, Jeb seeks dilussional responses rather than facing reality.
...Brady, who is giving current governor Pat Quinn a run for his money despite being a Republican in a blue state, was asked a question at the campaign stop about his current endorser, and whether he was worried that “palling around with a guy named Bush” would do him harm politically. He answered wholehearted that he didn’t believe so, and that he was greatly enriched by Jeb Bush’s expertise.
As for Bush himself, when asked about his brother’s economic policies and criticisms of such, he answered, “When people wake up that are partisans and they have the sniffles, they blame my brother. That’s just the way it is.”
I haven't noticed many Governors getting a one on one with the President. Brewer didn't know? Give me a break.
Posted: Jun 19, 2010 3:17 PM EDT
Updated: Jun 19, 2010 3:18 PM EDT
...Brewer issued a press release which reads, in part:
"…It will come as no surprise if recent media reports are accurate and if the president's policies now, in fact, include filing a lawsuit against the State of Arizona…I will ensure the immigration laws we passed are vigorously defended all the way to the United States Supreme Court if necessary, where this reasonable law will ultimately be found constitutional."
On Friday night, the governor said she would file a motion to dismiss a court challenge to the law by the ACLU and SEIU. She said that document would be available to the public Monday.
There is such a thing as 'appropriate' legislation. As I have stated before, if Arizona acted in this manner when Regan began his immigration campaign it would have been timely and correct in some ways, but, to allow decades of illegal immigration to exist only to try to oppress the people already in 'refugee' status from a hostile Mexico and USA border has no basis.
Human lives matter and Arizona along with many other states have had an open door policy for decades for the reason of cheap labor. Now, because it is 'politically fashonable' the tables on turned on people, including those with established lives and familes. It just doesn't work that way.
Cold air meets hot air.Shelf Cloud
June 18, 2010
Article published June 19, 2010
Thousands lack power after storms hit region; tornadoes possible
BLADE STAFF
A line of thunderstorms that moved over northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan Friday night knocked down trees and utility poles and generated unconfirmed reports of two tornadoes in Fulton County.
Justin Thompson, Fulton County's emergency management director, said one tornado was reported at County Roads D and 25 near Archbold and another in the middle of the county between County Roads 12 and 13 at about 9 p.m.
"We've had tree damage and a couple of poles down, but no structural damage or injuries," said Mr. Thompson, who was monitoring the situation from his office in Wauseon.
In Lucas County, the sheriff's office said some trees were down in the vicinity of Raab and Angola Roads in Spencer Township.
Toledo Edison said about 5,000 customers were without power at 11 p.m. About 800 of those were in Williams County and the rest were in the Maumee, Sylvania, and Toledo areas.
A sheriff's dispatcher in Defiance County reported "a couple of trees down - nothing major at all."
North of the Michigan line, sheriff's dispatchers in Monroe and Lenawee counties also reported downed trees and power lines.
The felled trees in Monroe County were mostly along Crabb Road in Erie Township. Farther north in the county, an outage was reported in Dundee.
Farther north in Michigan, CMS Energy Corp. said more than 57,000 customers were without power last night in its service area. More than 10,000 outages were reported in both Kalamazoo and Jackson counties.
The utility said it called in all available crews and planned to work into Saturday to restore service.
Saturday's forecast calls for scattered showers and thunderstorms with a high in the low 90s.
http://toledoblade.com/article/20100619/NEWS16/6190420/0/COLUMNIST23
Jindle's Big Scam, 10% clean up is better than no clean up. This is what he has been defaming the military and the President over?
You want to know why Louisiana is in the mess it is in? See below.
...The U.S. Coast Guard (click title to entry - thank you) on Thursday gave the go-ahead to use large boats outfitted with powerful vacuums commissioned by the state in the ongoing efforts in the Gulf of Mexico to clean up oil from BP's ruptured well. Coast Guard permission came after a 24-hour delay over concerns about the vessels' stability and their lack of lifesaving and firefighting equipment....
Evidently, emoting gets Jindal exactly what he wants REGARDLESS of the complications it might cause. The Governor of Louisiana commissioned boats 'rigged' with vacuum systems that will draw 10% of the oil from the surface of the water and then expected the Coast Guard to go along with it.
I am not surprised the Coast Guard didn't have time to assess the safety of the boats, but, why didn't Jindal have time, is what I am wondering?
You know, it wouldn't surprise me a bit if some of these antics costs the State of Louisiana plenty of money. These 'rigged' vacuum systems don't meet safety standards, yet, they are being used by a raving maniac of a Governor. Whatever makes Jindal believe this 'stunt' is going to be paid for by BP? I hope he has it in writing.
The Coast Guard might eventually be saving lives from these 'rigged' boats and I hope Jindal is prepared for the 'fallout' if that happens after he insisted on using them without the proper safety equipment. You know, after 11 lives lost due to lack of oversight and safety concerns, one would expect every precaution would be taken, but, NAH, not when it comes to trying to show up Washington for political gaming.
That is amazing.
Let's see these 'rigged' boats are suppose to 'recover' 10% of the oil from the surface. I suppose 10 rigged boats pulling off 10% of the oil makes 100%, right Bobby?
The picture as to why Louisiana has the issues it has and why their Governor is so frustrated with the outcome of his efforts is very , very clear.
The Governor stated all the efforts to stop the oil have failed.
Really?
Yep. And who suffers for Louisiana LACK OF STANDARDS? The entire world with contaminatied global ocean circulation. Simply amazing.
Drill here, drill now. Louisiana. They have no ethical or environmental basis for their demands, but, they make them anyway.
I sincerely believe the Coast Guard has enough to do, they don't have to add to the tragedy by letting a 'politically motivated Governor' run rough-shod over them to let unsafe 'rigged boats' on the water.
Those boats aren't going to do anything. Why endanger people's lives and possibly make things worse?
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