VITTER AIDE RESIGNS - FINALLY

Sen. David Vitter

From NOLA:

WASHINGTON -- An aide to Sen. David Vitter, R-La., resigned Wednesday amid revelations that he had held a woman against her will in 2008 in his Capitol Hill apartment, stabbing her in the hand and chin, before releasing her on her promise that she wouldn't call police.

And only now resigning? Last time I looked at the calendar, the year was 2010.

There's more:

Brent Furer, 40, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges and received a suspended sentence in connection with the incident, described in his arrest warrant, according to a report by ABC News Wednesday, which detailed a long string of Furer's "brushes with the law" dating to the 1990s. They included drunken driving arrests, cocaine possession and a "road rage" incident in Washington in late 2008 in which Furer stuck a motorcyclist, breaking his femur.

But wait! Here's the explanation from Sen. Vitter's office:

"The office hired the employee in question based on very strong recommendations, including those related to his military service in Kuwait," Joel DiGrado, Vitter's spokesman, said in a statement. "After the January 2008 incident, he was told to leave the office pending the court's determination of what happened. In April, after the court issued its penalty (fine and community service, no finding of assault or attack), and in consultation with the congressional employment legal office, further significant disciplinary action was taken and he was allowed to return to the office. Sen. Vitter accepted the employee's resignation today after learning of the other incidents."

Not assault. Not an attack. A mere stabbing in the hand and chin of the woman while she was being held against her will - a peccadillo. On well, then.

"HELP PLANT AN ORCHARD IN CENTRAL CITY NEW ORLEANS"

From Jim Naughton at The Lead:

Holly Heine and the folks at Jericho Road, a neighborhood-based nonprofit homebuilder that provides families with healthy and energy-efficient affordable housing opportunities in Central City, New Orleans needs our help. Just by voting in an online initiative sponsored by Edy's Fruit Bars, we can help them win a free fruit orchard for their neighborhood.

Here is what you need to do--every day:

1. Go here: Plant index.

2. Click on the rightmost of the two dots in the state of Louisiana.

3. When the words Jericho Road Episcopal House Initiative appear, click on More.

4. Follow the directions on the new page. Make sure to type in the two security words, and click on Plant my Vote.

You can vote one time each day—and every day—until the voting ends on August 31 at 11:59 PST. Edy's will award 5 winners the first of each month, May 1 through Sept 1. The winners will be announced on our site at the beginning of each month.

Benefits of an orchard:

A project that spans generations
A free food source
A learning experience for youth and adults alike
Provides cleaner air and soil conditions
Improves property values
Brings positive energy and attention to the neighborhood
Healthy staple in residents’ diet that may not have been there otherwise.

Thanks, Jim, for calling this opportunity to my attention.

BP BLOGS OR THERE'S BEAUTY IN THE GUSHER

John McCusker, The Times-Picayune - A shrimp boat drags skimmers through the oil slick in the Gulf Of Mexico on May 6.

From NOLA:

Tired of daily news reports about oiled pelicans, tar-balled beaches and out-of-work fishers? You might check out a BP blog that offers a more upbeat take on the worst oil spill in U.S. history.

The proverbial glass of oily seawater always seems half-full for the company's "reporters" as they file dispatches on a couple who may lose their seafood restaurant but refuse to blame BP; oil-skimming boats that resemble a "spectacular ballet at sea;" and a touching scene of mothers cleaning a beach on Mother's Day, "reminding everyone that this spill response is only a very small part of what's important."

Many of BP's "Blogs from the Gulf" are tributes to "extraordinarily dedicated responders," often BP employees who are lauded for working long hours to clean up the company's mess.
In a May 28 post, "BP reporter" Paula Kolmar said it was "oddly an inspiration" to fly over the spill zone.

Look at the photo. The colors are exquisite - like a beautiful painting.

And at the BP Blog link above, we learn:

I wanted to understand why authorities repeatedly have warned the public not to handle injured birds, but instead instructed people to report the location of injured birds and leave it to specialists to rescue the animals. One look at a distressed, oiled pelican arriving at the center answered part of my question. The birds are dangerous and can be aggressive when under stress.

See? You must not handle the birds not because the oil is toxic or anything. It's the fault of the birds. The oil-soaked pelicans are aggressive!

ON "THE ISSUE OF VESTURE"

John Chilton at The Lead reports on an explanation, of sorts, from Lambeth on "the issue of vesture", also know as "mitregate".

Be sure to read the comments at The Lead to see what naughty Tobias has to say. Poor baby. It's 92° in the Bronx and his AC is out. We can't blame him too much.

EARLIEST KNOWN ICONS DISCOVERED IN CATACOMBS IN ROME

From The Sydney Morning Herald:

SANTA TECLA, Rome: The earliest known icons of four of Christ's apostles have been found in an elaborately decorated chamber in a catacomb beneath the streets of Rome.

Scientists used laser technology to remove a crust of dirt and calcium deposits and bring to light the brightly coloured 4th century paintings of the saints John, Paul, Andrew and Peter.

The images adorn the ceiling of a vault, carved out of volcanic rock, which provided the last resting place for a rich Roman noblewoman who converted to Christianity after it was declared legal by the emperor Constantine.

Oh my! What an exciting discovery. However, because of their fragility, not just anyone will be able to view the icons. Visitors will probably be limited to scholars. Still, for the rest of us, it's lovely to see photos.

POOR BABY

 

There's Diana. There's nothing much wrong with her, except she hurts from old age and arthritis, the same maladies of her female human. This morning she was limping badly and quite lethargic. The vet gave her a steroid shot and two medications, one for arthritis and one for pain. We shall see. I suppose with the pain medication, she will still be lethargic. The possible side-effects for the arthritis medication are somewhat scary. Labradors, especially, seem to be sensitive to the meds, and we think that Diana may be part Lab.

She doesn't want her dog bed now, but seems to prefer to lie on the floor. Whatever she wants. Poor baby.

UPDATE: Diana just came over to me to be let out. She's walking much better and seems on the mend. I'm still getting the glucosamine. We've decided, on our own, to give her the arthritis medication only once a day, instead of twice. The warnings of side effects are too scary.

"CANON KEARON SPEAKS"

Katie Sherrod at Desert's Child, a member of the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church, gives a splendid eye- and ear-witness report on the recent meeting in Maryland, including the question and answer session with Canon Kenneth Kearon, Secretary General of the Anglican Communion. I see no way to entice you to read her post with excerpts. You simply have to read it all. Take special note of Katie's titles of the sections of the report.

THE THREE BISHOPS

Bishop Gerard Mpango, of the Diocese of Western Tanganyika in Africa, Bishop Michael Perham, of the Diocese of Glouscester in England, and Bishop Mary Gray-Reeves, of the Diocese of El Camino Real in the US, in all their splendor (including mitres), preside together at the Eucharist at Glouscester Cathedral. Check out the wonderful photo at The Three-Legged Stool.

FEDERAL JUDGE RULES AGAINST DRILLING MORATORIUM

From NBC News:

NEW ORLEANS - A federal judge Tuesday ruled against the Obama administration's six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling in the wake of the BP oil spill. The White House, which had hoped the ban would provide time to ensure other wells are operating safely, immediately said it planned to appeal.

The ruling comes in a lawsuit filed by drilling companies to reverse the ban imposed by the Department of Interior, which halted the approval of any new permits for deepwater drilling and suspended drilling at 33 exploratory wells in the Gulf.
A federal judge in Louisiana granted the drillers' request for a preliminary restraining order that would prevent the ban from taking effect.

District Judge Martin Feldman said the Interior Department failed to provide adequate reasoning and that the moratorium seems to assume that because one rig failed, all companies and rigs doing deepwater drilling pose an imminent danger.
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs countered that "continuing to drill at these depths without knowing what happened does not make any sense and ... potentially puts the safety of those on the rigs and the safety of the environment in the Gulf at a danger that the president does not believe we can afford right now."

I state up front that I am not unbiased on the drilling moratorium. I believe that posturing and hypocrisy are involved in Obama's decision. Deep in my heart, I believe that deepwater drilling is not safe and will not be safe any time soon, if ever, but certainly not in six months. The ban on deepwater drilling would need to be open-ended to permanent.

Since clean-up and mitigation technology is between 30 to 50 years old, with little progress over the years, I doubt that industry and governments can catch up in six months.

Drilling can surely be made safer than the type of operation by BP on the Horizon well. Several warnings that all was not well were ignored. BP eliminated several safety steps which could have forewarned of trouble, and the company used cheaper technology and equipment that made the well less safe. Making production a priority over safety, pervaded the culture of BP. Stricter regulations and vigorous enforcement of regulations already in place by government agencies would have made drilling the well safer.

As I've said, in my humble opinion, deepwater drilling cannot be made safe, only safer. So the question is, are we ready, as a country, for the consequences of a permanent or open-ended ban on deepwater drilling? Or will we take the risks associated with ending the moratorium in six months or a year? That is the question stated in an honest way.

One thought I've had is a rig by rig thorough inspection for safety, with the rig closed down temporarily, or permanently, if necessary, if the well is shown to be unsafe during the inspection.

I freely admit that the fact that tens of thousands of people in south Louisiana stand to lose their jobs, and hundreds of small businesses that provide jobs will be adversely affected during the moratorium influences my thinking. I am not unbiased, but I do give serious thought to safety and the environment, and I know that it is urgent that we begin to wean ourselves off oil as a major source of energy and find safer, cleaner, and renewable sources of energy.

BP - KING OF THE GULF OF MEXICO - WHY, MR PRESIDENT?

From Michael Snyder at Business Insider:

There is one question that I would really like an answer to. Who died and made BP king of the Gulf of Mexico? In recent weeks, BP has almost seemed more interested in keeping the American people away from the oil spill than in actually cleaning it up.

Journalists are being pushed around and denied access, disaster workers are being intimidated and abused and now BP has even go so far as to hire an army of private mercenaries to enforce their will along the Gulf coast. Are we suddenly living in occupied Iraq?

How in the world did a foreign oil company get the right to start pointing guns at the American people? The last time I checked, BP did not own the Gulf of Mexico and did not have the right to tell the American people where they can and cannot go. The truth is that BP could have avoided all of this by running an open, honest and transparent operation from the start.

They could have welcomed help from all sources, they could have tried to be open with the media, and they could have tried to be fair with the volunteers and rescue workers. But instead BP has been conducting this whole thing as if we are living in a totalitarian dictatorship and they are the dictators.
....

But it is not just the media that are being pushed around. The Louisiana Environmental Action Network is reporting that BP is actually threatening to fire fishermen hired to help with the oil spill cleanup for using respirators and other safety equipment that wasn't provided by the company.

Seriously.

The workers say that they are only using their own safety equipment because BP has not provided what they need. It is a fact that a large number of rescue workers have already gotten sick enough to be admitted to the hospital, so it certainly makes sense that those working to clean up the oil would want to do whatever they can to stay safe.

But no, BP has to be a bunch of jerks about the whole thing.
....

So this crisis may keep getting worse for months.

By the time this is over, will anything in the Gulf be left alive?

Even now, hordes of dolphins, fish, sharks, crabs, rays and other sea creatures find themselves trapped between the rapidly advancing oil and the shore. Unprecedented numbers are showing up just off the Gulf coast in an attempt to escape certain death, but once the oil reaches shore there will be nowhere else for them to go. The tragedy will be unspeakable.

Things did not have to turn out this way. BP and the Obama administration could have done things much differently. But they didn't.

Read more: Business Insider.

Good grief! I've heard most of the above information in bits and pieces, but seeing it gathered in one article is truly shocking. Why are these strong-arm tactics permitted?

We intended to visit Grand Isle, Louisiana, today, to see for ourselves what's happening there, but our dog, Diana, is not well. She is avoiding using her right front leg, and she is just not herself, very lethargic, perhaps from pain. She has an appointment with the vet this afternoon. I'll keep you posted.

Image from MadPriest. H/T to Tracie in the comments at the same post for the link to the article.