… and the rest of the planet seems to be falling apart, too. Something is uptick-ing. We’re going to have to step it up, to account for the slackers and idiots. Read the depressing news and then go out and make lemonade. Put some vodka in it, is the Cyclecide recipe for “clown water” ™.
And if you’re feeling like taking action for the financially-blindsided people of the Oilpocalypse States, consider calling every church in the phone book in your town and alerting them to the continuing problems in the Gulf, and the TOY DRIVE (and other-items drive) Coastal Heritage Society of Louisiana is organizing for the holidays. Copy-paste Kindra Arnesen’s open letter to email to the pastors when you do.
Just an idea. Holler in the comments section if you’re covering an area. I don’t mean to be all Tyler Durden this-is-your-assignment-for-the-week-ish, but at the same time, here’s one concrete way we could smother the Gulf with a little love from all over the world this fall. Yes?
On a personal note, it turns out there has been a hydrogen sulfide leak in the Chalmette Refinery down the road from my house in the Lower Ninth Ward for who-knows-how-long. No wonder my chemical poisoning didn’t abate on the trips back and forth from the Bayou to the Ninth Ward during the Oilpocalypse. No wonder everyone in my neighborhood and over the canal had “the flu” and mouth sores and ear infections and deep coughs and otherwise-poisoned-symptoms all summer. Meanwhile, over here in California where I’m at, nobody seems to realize there’s a full-blown chemical attack on American people and world wildlife being perpetrated by the Spillionaires and facilitated by our own government, down by where they go to Mardi Gras. IT IS STILL HAPPENING.
Thoughts and prayers to the family of the man who passed away trying to fix this egregious negligence at the Refinery. The people of St. Bernard Parish could use a little help too. They kind of got ignored in the Katrina thing, even though they’re right next door to the Lower Ninth Ward. The Community Center of St. Bernard Parish is the backbone over there, and they ALWAYS need fresh resources. Everybody in my ‘hood visits at least once a week to get free food, clothes, coffee, acupuncture, flyers, news, and help with food stamps and paperwork. And I’m not talking about drug-addled welfare leeches. I’m talking about regular people like you and me who have been thrown under the bus, either directly or in some roundabout way, due to our energy consumption habits.
So. Doing stuff is the new buying things. Enjoy and thank you.
LINKS:
NPR: Scientists find thick layer of oil on sea floor
AP: Government thwarted panel’s worst-case scenario on oil spill (and I will never trust NOAA or the EPA to tell the truth, ever again. Same goes for the FDA)
Guardian UK: White House blocked and put spin on scientists’ warnings about the Gulf oil spill
Too sick and scared of Obama’s thugs: Australian SBS reports Gulf truth (video)
USF researchers: Ultraviolet tests show ‘contaminated’ beach
NOLA.com: Assessment of deepwater-drilling risks was unrealistic, oil spill commission leader says
AP: Feds severely neglected inspections of offshore drilling rigs
PR Watch: Environmental & health effects of oil dispersants a mystery to BP and the gov’t
Surviving the 21st century: The Deepwater Horizon disaster and acid rain
Censored Gulf News: ‘I believe in the PEOPLE of America,’ says Kindra Arnesen
Los Angeles Times: Oil companies have a rich history of U.S. subsidies
All told, the oil and gas industry spent $174.7 million and registered 788 lobbyists to influence lawmakers and regulators last year, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan research organization. Since 1998, the industry has spent $966.8 million on lobbying, making it the sixth-biggest-spending interest group in Washington, the center found. – L.A. Times
Wikipedia: Lobbying in the United States
Washington Post: Interest groups prepared to spend record amounts in 2010 elections
Gulf Breeze cyclist killed during cross-country journey
Newsvine: BP caught lying while Deepwater Horizon burns
Probe of BP well blowout raises possibility of cracks
Bloomberg: BP well was 61% over budget before drilling-rig blast
Into the Ashes: Oh no, it just can’t be — Gulf disaster
Spectregroup: Nothing but Petrodollars (superior head-scratchin’ brainiac oil-history factsheet, which supposes unless the military-industrial complex is stopped, then “we” are about to attack Iran so we can take their shit)
also WATCH THIS and tell me if your tinfoil hat don’t get itchy:
Snopes.com: Prohibition sponsored by Standard Oil
Prisonplanet: Rockefeller, Ford, and the secret history of alcohol (so THIS is why everything runs on petroleum instead of plants.)
BBC News: Brazil’s alcohol cars hit 2m mark
Tierramerica.net: Brazil – a Bio-Energy Superpower
Running on Alcohol: Make Your Own Fuel
CBS News: Brazil elects non-metaphorical clown, Tiririca, to office (CLOWN POWER)
Gulf oil spill could cost coastal homeowners up to $3 billion in home values
Flavorwire: New Orleans’ hurricane-inspired graffiti
New Orleans Bounce exposes itself on NBC: Big Freedia the Queen Diva
Mother Jones: Who owns Congress? A campaign cash seating chart
TransAlchemy: Terraforming the Gulf of Mexico with Fuel-Producing Algae
HuffPo: Corexit use still appears to be prevalent in the Gulf, despite official statements
Youtube: Obama White House withheld key information about the BP Gulf Oil Spill and LIES about it
Wildlife Promise: Scientist finds deadly effects of dispersant used in Gulf oil disaster
Youtube: P2S supervisor recounts conversation between BP officials at Green Acres Command Center
Deep Sea News: The state of Gulf spill science – my view
Scientist / author Linda Hooper-Bui’s Blog
(Is this a paranoid video? I mean, really? Or does it seem like what’s actually going on?)
WashPo: Mental health troubles brewing along the Gulf Coast
WVUE Fox 8: People question whether the coast is really clear
WWL-TV: 250 square-mile dead zone in LA sound
Official: Massive fishkills – “Testing results show the fish have oil in their gills and liver”
WVUE Fox 8: Helpline set up for folks stressed by Gulf spill
Florida Oil Spill Law: Kickass resource
Locust Fork News-Journal: Thousands of people along the Gulf Coast suffer “BP Crud”
Locust Fork News-Journal: Dr. Riki Ott speaks out at Orange Beach public health forum
Greenpeace: A study in contrast, between the Deepwater disaster and Hungary’s toxic sludge tsunami
Life Magazine photos: Hungary’s toxic mud flood
Ten Myths about Social Security
Mark Ryden's "The Creatrix" -- stare at this for a while and tell me you don't feel compelled to do SOMEthing to fix the planet
Caught spying on student, FBI demands GPS tracker back
Suzanna Gratia-Hupp: what the Second Amendment is REALLY for (oh, this one is SO worth watching til the very end)
Slate: New reseach shows precisely how the prison-to-poverty cycle does its damage
Sott.net: The Totalitarian Communist Roots of the Tea Party Movement
UC Berkeley news: Social scientists build case for ‘survival of the kindest’
hey lady! thx for the shout out in your last blog post, appreciate it
. Also, check this out, I just found out about it this morning. It’s a group of individual citizens and nonprofit orgs coming together to take action. The Gulf Restoration Network is leading the charge and here is their plan. It’s called “The Weeks Bay Principles for Gulf Recovery” – click on the PDF to read the full document. http://bit.ly/cwCac5 keep postin’, love your blog 
take care – bg
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