DarkSyde over at DailyKos is drawing attention to a catastrophe-in-the-making in the Midwest. Be sure and follow the links Dark provides. One is the blog diary of an Iowa resident that paints a pretty stark picture of what is going on.
More rain in the Midwest this week could turn an already bad situation into a national catastrophe.
Tom Murphy AP -- Rescuers in boats continued to pluck people from rising waters in Indiana yesterday, a day after more than 10 inches of rain deluged much of the state. In Iowa, pumps and thousands of sandbags were sent to the Iowa City area, where officials fear a reservoir could top a spillway and flood the city of about 63,000 by tomorrow.
Michael Crumb, Trib -- In Des Moines, plans were being made to build temporary levees and begin sandbagging to hold the water back. In Iowa City, City Manager Michael Lombardo said as many as 150 homes near the Iowa River are "directly in harms way," with another 130 homes in two mobile home parks also being threatened.
Need we point out that a number of Iowa National Guard units are deployed overseas, others are just returning or preparing to leave? That means the local guard is at roughly half their normal strength in both manpower and equipment thanks to Bush and McCain's war. Oops!
Sara Stewart, KCRG News -- This Memorial Day weekend, the Iowa Army National Guard says it needs more equipment to effectively fulfill its duties. The guard's continued presence in Iraq means it only has about 60 percent of the necessary materials. Iowa National Guard Soldiers respond to local emergencies, protect our country at home and serve overseas.
And here is the rest of it.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Saturday, June 7, 2008
RIP Monk Seals
According to a report in Time:
Federal officials have confirmed what biologists have long thought: The Caribbean monk seal has gone the way of the dodo.
Humans hunting the docile creatures for research, food and blubber left the population unsustainable, say biologists who warn that Hawaiian and Mediterranean monk seals could be the next to go.
The last confirmed sighting of a Caribbean monk seal was in 1952 between Jamaica and Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration's Fisheries Service confirmed Friday that the species is extinct.
Kyle Baker, a biologist for NOAA's Fisheries Service southeast region, said the species is the only seal to become extinct from human causes.
The seals were first classified as endangered in 1967, and wildlife experts investigated several reported sightings over the past few decades. But officials determined they were other seal types.
The federal agency says there are fewer than 1,200 Hawaiian and 500 Mediterranean monk seals remaining, and their populations are declining.
"We hope we've learned from the extinction of Caribbean monk seals, and can provide stronger protection for their Hawaiian and Mediterranean relatives," Baker said.
The Hawaiian monk seal population, protected by NOAA, is declining at a rate of about 4 percent annually, according to NOAA. The agency predicts the population could fall below 1,000 in the next three to four years, placing the mammal among the world's most endangered marine species.
There is more in the article, but you get the idea. And here is the rest of it.
Federal officials have confirmed what biologists have long thought: The Caribbean monk seal has gone the way of the dodo.
Humans hunting the docile creatures for research, food and blubber left the population unsustainable, say biologists who warn that Hawaiian and Mediterranean monk seals could be the next to go.
The last confirmed sighting of a Caribbean monk seal was in 1952 between Jamaica and Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration's Fisheries Service confirmed Friday that the species is extinct.
Kyle Baker, a biologist for NOAA's Fisheries Service southeast region, said the species is the only seal to become extinct from human causes.
The seals were first classified as endangered in 1967, and wildlife experts investigated several reported sightings over the past few decades. But officials determined they were other seal types.
The federal agency says there are fewer than 1,200 Hawaiian and 500 Mediterranean monk seals remaining, and their populations are declining.
"We hope we've learned from the extinction of Caribbean monk seals, and can provide stronger protection for their Hawaiian and Mediterranean relatives," Baker said.
The Hawaiian monk seal population, protected by NOAA, is declining at a rate of about 4 percent annually, according to NOAA. The agency predicts the population could fall below 1,000 in the next three to four years, placing the mammal among the world's most endangered marine species.
There is more in the article, but you get the idea. And here is the rest of it.
Bill Moyers at the National Conference for Media Reform
I love, love, LOVE this man. Not long before she passed away, Molly Ivins tried to convince him (and get US to convince him) to run for president, because she was convinced (and rightly so) that Moyers could so greatly elevate the level of discussion and exemplify a moral compass that would be hard to deny.
And here is the rest of it.
And here is the rest of it.
Friday, June 6, 2008
McCain called out
I promise not to make every post about McCain, but I just can't pass up opportunities to notice when he works so hard to to be called out!
From Firedoglake:
During a press conference today in Louisiana, Senator McCain was asked why he twice voted against creating a commission to investigate the government's response to Hurricane Katrina. McCain responded, "I have supported every investigation and ways of finding out what caused the tragedy." However, Senator McCain has voted against such measures on multiple occasions. In response, Obama campaign spokesman Hari Sevugan issued the following statement:
"Whether he simply wasn't aware of his voting record again or he was intentionally misleading the people of Louisiana, John McCain certainly isn't offering us 'leadership you can believe in.'"
(...)
McCain Repeatedly Voted Against Establishing A Commission To Study The Response To Hurricane Katrina. In 2005 and 2006, McCain voted against proposals to establish a Congressional commission to examine the Federal, State, and local government response to Hurricane Katrina in U.S. Gulf Region. Both proposals were sponsored by Senator Clinton. [S. Amdt. 2716, Senate Vote 6, 2/2/06; S. Amdt. 1660, Senate Vote 229, 9/14/05]
The article goes on to talk about what the impact will be if Obama's campaign continues to call McCain out on his BS. Suffice to say, McCain isn't looking so pretty.And here is the rest of it.
From Firedoglake:
During a press conference today in Louisiana, Senator McCain was asked why he twice voted against creating a commission to investigate the government's response to Hurricane Katrina. McCain responded, "I have supported every investigation and ways of finding out what caused the tragedy." However, Senator McCain has voted against such measures on multiple occasions. In response, Obama campaign spokesman Hari Sevugan issued the following statement:
"Whether he simply wasn't aware of his voting record again or he was intentionally misleading the people of Louisiana, John McCain certainly isn't offering us 'leadership you can believe in.'"
(...)
McCain Repeatedly Voted Against Establishing A Commission To Study The Response To Hurricane Katrina. In 2005 and 2006, McCain voted against proposals to establish a Congressional commission to examine the Federal, State, and local government response to Hurricane Katrina in U.S. Gulf Region. Both proposals were sponsored by Senator Clinton. [S. Amdt. 2716, Senate Vote 6, 2/2/06; S. Amdt. 1660, Senate Vote 229, 9/14/05]
The article goes on to talk about what the impact will be if Obama's campaign continues to call McCain out on his BS. Suffice to say, McCain isn't looking so pretty.And here is the rest of it.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Sunday, June 1, 2008
To kill or not to kill
Whether you support or oppose the death penalty, this article better give you something to think about.
For example:
A Supreme Court ruling recently gave states the green light to resume executions; two of the first three executed prisoners were mentally disabled. And here is the rest of it.
For example:
A Supreme Court ruling recently gave states the green light to resume executions; two of the first three executed prisoners were mentally disabled. And here is the rest of it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)