I'll be away for the majority of the day tomorrow, Tuesday.

This response is no different than the BP response in the Gulf of Mexico.

The LEAKS are upsetting to the CEO because of the loss of PRODUCT, not because of human beings and/or wildlife and/or American property values are effected.

What is really disgusting is that the USA government at any level does NOTHING to end the leak. NOTHING.

Do you know how the Saudis solve these problems? They drill a parallel HOLE and then place a nuclear charge in the HOLE, fill the HOLE and set off the charge. Why? Because they don't want the pollution, the health effects or the damage done to property. The Saudis always figure they can drill another well. But, then all Saudi Arabia has to do is have a proclamation of the King, not a corrupted Congress, to end the LEAK.

January 11, 2016
Updated by David Roberts

...The Santa Susana Mountains (click here) north of Los Angeles contain compressed layers of sedimentary rock that arch upward, like upside-down bowls. They once held enormous oil deposits, but those were mostly tapped out by the early 1970s, when SoCal Gas bought portions of the oil fields to use as natural gas storage.
The Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility, just a mile away from the affluent northern LA community of Porter Ranch, is enormous. It's the second largest in the western US, with some 86 billion cubic feet of capacity, larger than any human-made structure could match. The facility is an important tool used by the utility to respond to fluctuating power and heat demand....

Perhaps the majority of Americans haven't heard, the Republican Party has a strong following by white supremists, especially in the south.

June 22, 2015
by Eric Lichtblau

The leader of a white supremacist (click here) group that apparently influenced Dylann Roof, the suspect in the killing of nine African-Americans in a Charleston, S.C., church last week, has donated tens of thousands of dollars to Republican campaigns, including those of 2016 presidential contenders such as Ted Cruz, Rick Santorum and Rand Paul, records show.

Mr. Cruz, a Texas senator, said Sunday night that he would be returning about $8,500 in donations that he had received from the Texas donor, Earl Holt III, who lists himself as president of the Council of Conservative Citizens.

“We just learned this evening that Mr. Holt had contributed to the campaign,” a spokesman for the Cruz campaign said in an email to The New York Times. “We will be immediately refunding all those donations.”...

This is nothing any of the Republicans seem to be ashamed of. This is what is following them into the government at any level. While this is news, it is not new. One might ask why they are still a Republican.

I also think Senator Cruz needs to rethink his viability as a candidate. I don't believe there is a problem simply because his mother was in Canada at the time of his birth. But. There are some interesting members of the Republican Party, the least of which is Senator McCain as well as some very qualified academics questioning the viability to his campaign into a candidate.

Senator Cruz knows the issue and he knows what to do. The last thing he needs is to state it is racism. There are qualified people raising doubts. He should rethink his approach to a sensitive issue.

I don't state this because of Donald Trump. There is doubt among the party. Every voter should have confidence their primary vote matters. This is about the citizens going to the polls. They should feel confident. It is a matter of appreciating their decision and respecting their point of view. Providing reassurance to voters is a matter of respect for them. It is not a defeat.

I wish him luck.

David Bowie leaves behind a family.

January 11, 2015

New York (AFP) - David Bowie's supermodel wife Iman, (click here) who was married to the legendary musician for 23 years, posted a series of poignant Facebook messages in the days leading up to his death.

"The struggle is real, but so is God," she wrote on her public Twitter and Facebook accounts Sunday, the day that her husband died surrounded by his family after a private 18-month battle with cancer.

In the hours after news broke Monday of his death, the post collected more than 2,000 messages of condolence to the 60-year-old Somali-American model and the couple's teenage daughter, Alexandria.

Iman has not commented publicly since her husband's death was announced.

"Sometimes you will never know the true value of a moment until it becomes a memory," she wrote Saturday....

As soon as Governor Snyder finished speaking the Emergency Alert System came on the television. I don't believe in coincidence..

Somebody lit a fire under the Governor.

The people of Flint are getting help. I hope they feel important and I hope they are now feeling safe.

Water is vital to anyone. The youngest citizens of this country are every bit important as any adult with money in their pocket for political donations.

This seems under control at the moment so long as the citizens in need are getting the message. I am sure Flint and the county have social workers and charities that have contact with the people. It is important they understand there is help now.

The medical information is confidential. That doesn't mean people can't share what is going on if they find that important, but, I would recommend it until a legal authority has looked at everything. Once that is done they can provide insight and counseling to the individuals.

This one really breaks my heart. There was just no reason for any of this to occur. This is something every American understands from decades ago. Paint removal for leaded paint. This is not new. And water is so vital to everyone.

Flint is a great city of great people. The country of the middle class has sincere gratitude to the people that built Flint. They showed us we are important and here we are decades later and feeling invisible to not just business, but, government itself.

There are a lot of good people in Flint and the Mayor has a degree of authority in seeing to it people are receiving water and filters.

It was shocking to realize this even happened and it has an ongoing problem for more than a year. That was so devastating to hear. The Mayor and Council has to have their power returned to them as elected officials.

This is an ongoing issue. It doesn't stop here. The Mayor and Council have to remain vigilant and encourage every health care professional caring for the people of Flint to be all that more vigilant. Please don't let them fall between the cracks. Living on low income stresses time available to care for oneself. That has to be over. Besides realizing a good wage, the people of Flint have to put their health on a higher priority and that goes for aspect of their health. The people should feel empowered and respected. The future is important again and we all have to remain vigilant.

There is no future that is not possible for the people of Flint. Every dream is important and everything possible needs to be done to help them realize that.

There are several ways to bring down a drug kingpin.

Sean Penn's integrity is untarnished. There was no one better to trust with such an assignment. I am not questioning his purpose or thinking about the interview. The Mexican government failed twice to successfully incarcerate Guzman.

Not only that but within the recent past, drug cartel kingpins were in the same article in Forbes and elsewhere listing successfully wealthy people. There is every reason to believe someone needed to link with Guzman, hence, his cartel and network to bring about a clear understanding to the future and American kids.

Sean Penn has practically taken up residence in Haiti after the earthquake. He has lived his life there completely selfless. I think Anderson Cooper from CNN has interviewed Sean on several occasions in Haiti. If Sean Penn was involved with Guzman it was because he could, not because he should. Penn now has a reputation among people in Latin America. He is a trustworthy person in several geographical regions. I am fairly confident, considering the problem with drugs in the USA, Sean Penn was finding a way to bring about a conversation to create change within the cartel network.

Look, Sean Penn is outside the loop. He works in places and in ways no one else can. I worry about the people in Haiti, but, Sean Penn is that link for society to address that concern. Sean is a celebrity and vast numbers of people recognize him.

If nothing was going to work with Guzman, at least Sean was willing to start a new path to understanding and conversation. The USA government needs to look to Sean Penn for insight and to Rolling Stone as a forum that works for their readers.

January 11, 2016

By Yanan Wang

A man reads an article about drug lord Joaquin Guzman, aka "El Chapo," showing a picture of him, right, and American actor Sean Penn on the Rollling Stone website on January 10, 2016.



Sean Penn's “El Chapo” (click here) article is either the best or worst thing that has happened to Rolling Stone magazine since its infamous, now-discredited piece about an alleged University of Virginia fraternity gang rape.
Saturday — one day after Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman was recaptured by authorities — seemed as good a time as any to unveil one of the year’s biggest journalistic scoops: a sprawling account of how the actor and director known for starring in such films as “Dead Man Walking” and “Milk” scored a rare interview with the notorious Mexican drug lord.
Upon the story’s release, there were two questions on everyone’s minds. First, how did Penn succeed where seasoned journalists before him had failed for decades?...

This is a very sad surprise. While he was making his way into a new genre, he had what I can remember a private life.

What man wears his hair like that and the shirt is simply unthinkable.

His new sound was effortless for him. It wasn't messy needing some kind of professional hand. Bowie was unique. I don't recall anyone able to mimic his style.

January 11, 2016

It is obvious enough (click here) that David Bowie brought the techniques of the theatre to pop music. But he did something more profound than that: he brought the idea that lies behind theatre, not just into music, but into contemporary culture as a whole.

That idea is simply stated: character isn’t something you have, it is something you invent. The actor is a protean figure, a shapeshifter. And the better the actor, the more scary this figure becomes.

The great actors disturb something that is central to our existence - the idea of the self. By putting on and taking off selves, they make us question whether the self really exists at all. Bowie was disturbing because he took this idea to its most extreme conclusions....

For his outrageous theater, he was sane and safe. He was so 'out there' it placed him on a shelf by himself and that exclusion allowed young hearts and minds plenty of room to entertain his sound.

If there is a parallel universe in 2016, it would be Gaga.

David Bowie was much to young to leave us all behind. I am so sorry to hear he lost his life to cancer. Wow. It sort of falls into the same feeling when I heard about Jim Henson. Somehow it is just not fair.

Hillary Clinton has been an incredible advocate for women and girls.

Hillary Clinton never committed adultery. She never let the American people down when she was First Lady. She has every right to defend herself as a woman, a mother and a wife. She has not victimized women involved in an affair with her spouse. She defended herself.

Monica Lewinsky stated to Barbara Walters she initiated the interest in Bill when she flipped her dress up in the White House during her working day. Basically, she showed her ass in a thong.

What?

After the Lewinsky interview Barbara Walters was on a talk show and she was asked how she felt about the flirtatious Monica. Barbara Walters in referring to the thong stated, "Where it as a hat."

May 17, 2013

Barbara Walters (click here) revisited her famous interview with Monica Lewinsky, telling Dave Letterman on Thursday night that she still keeps in touch with Lewinsky.
The ABC newswoman dropped by "The Late Show," where she and Letterman talked about some of her biggest interviews. Walters lamented that the world hasn't allowed Lewinsky to move on. When asked if she has spoken to her recently, Walters said "in touch with her" from time to time.
"I think she has an OK life," she said. "I think it’s still difficult for her. Since this is my last year in television, I would love to be able to talk to Monica again."...

I think Barbara Walters makes an interesting point in that we all should be concerned with the women that have gone to Washington, DC as young women, had affairs and their life took a very different trajectory then the ladies had hoped.

Hillary Clinton has no responsibility with women that entered into consensual affairs with her spouse. Ms. Flowers carried on with a love affair for twelve years. That is not rape. Twelve years of rape? Really? What I remember is that Jennifer benefited financial in advancing her career during those years. That is not new. Women have used their sexuality to advance in their work, jobs or career.

What was her name? She claimed sexual harassment. We looked at all that and Hillary Clinton had a minor role in that examination of the facts. Hillary Clinton did not commit sexual harassment. I don't get it. And no one needs to state her name. If I forgot her name that is a good thing. She needs to get on with her life.

If a major newspaper is seeking leverage over a great woman because they can somehow benefit form that, even politically, they haven't got a case. I said it before, assigning a woman blame for an affair when she is a victim of her spouse, is misogyny. Hillary Clinton was as much a victim as the women in the affairs. She suffered as well.

I don't know how a newspaper defines victimization, but, women in marriages find themselves wounded by their spouse's affair and need as much support as any other woman in the triangle. The attacks on Hillary Clinton are simply a continued victimization. It is not appropriate. She was a mother to Chelsea in her relationship with Bill. There is a lot here that pressures women when facing their spouses wandering. Hillary was a victim of adultery. That is not easy.

This is still early in the morning and I need my coffee.

When divorces result from affairs, the judge doesn't ask how the other woman is doing. Get out of my life with this.

Maureen Dowd can write a book called, "All the President's Women," but, it better be comprehensive. I heard George Washington slept around a lot.

Hillary Clinton is a great women and carries a lot on her conscience all the time. She carries in her capacity generations of women hoping she is the first woman in the White House's Oval Office. There are reasons for that. Hillary Clinton is allowed to be ambitious.

She and the other woman  involved with Bill really should not have to answer past this for issues settled decades ago. Women's status have changed in those decades and Hillary Clinton has a part in that change. There isn't going to be much that is going to taint her character.

Jennifer Flowers has had a very big struggle to recuperate from her use by American politics. If the New York Times wants to run Hillary Clinton off as they did Elliot Spitzer, they aren't going to have an easy path. There is no there, there.

Monica Lewinsky was young at the age of 19. I do believe her when she states she fell in love. She has taken on the world, but, the world somehow never forgave her. This is a little bit of rough handling, but, at least Monica is alive.

I think the American press needs a good seminar on women and relationships, including women caught in the meat grinder called adultery. For some reason when a former wife does well in her divorce she is a witch. There is a lot that still hangs in the air that has to be worked through from the time of Women's Suffrage. I mean that completely.

Why are trees precious and vital? Because they are trees,

"Morning Papers"

The Rooster

"Okeydoke"

What did Original Forests look like before they were logged?

Below are the trees of "Old American Forests."

This particular picture is from California. These are trees that 'felled naturally.' And, yes, felled is a real word. But, the Old American Forests had trees hundreds of years old. In the case of the southern Cypress forests, some of the logged forests were over 2000 years old. They were alive when the Christians gave birth to their savior.

Trees are magnificent. You aren't going to believe this, but, they can recognize their family members through their roots when they contact other roots. The genetics match. Seedlings to young trees and grown trees.

Kindly realize this one reality. If they can recognize family, they are communicating. Recognition is vital to communication. Do you recognize everyone that passes you? No. But, do you always recognize your family? Think about it.

"Good Night, Moon"

The new moon.

1.2 days old

1.5 % lit

I never discussed the Christmas Full Moon. "On Dancer, on Dasher, on Prancer and Vixon. On Comet, on Cupid, on Donner and Blitzen...."

A full moon on Christmas Eve is iconic to the holiday with Santa, his sleigh and reindeer silhouetted against that bright object in the sky. It was nice to have a chance to have a full moon on Christmas this year.

The full moon gave NORAD a break, too.

The "Daily Mail" had their usual graphic article about the sensational parts of life. Thank you to the "Daily Mail."

December 25, 2015
By Victoria Woollaston

Stargazers will be given (click here) a rare treat this Christmas day as the final full moon of the year peaks on 25 December.

The last time a full moon dawned in the skies on Christmas was in 1977, and the event won't happen again until 2034. 

December's full moon is called the Full Cold Moon because it occurs during the beginning of winter and it will peak at 06.11 EST....