Israeli commandos stormed a six-vessel flotilla of activists seeking to run the blockade of Gaza in early morning hours, prompting a firestorm of international condemnation. At least 10 activists were killed and many more wounded during the operation, which took place in the international waters of the Mediterranean. President Barack Obama’s Tuesday meeting at the White House with Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu is off.
** NEW COLUMN COMING UP … MEMORIAL DAY MAUNDERINGS, AND THE MEANING OF THEY WERE EXPENDABLE.
** OBAMA TODAY – MONDAY. President Barack Obama is in Illinois and Washington, DC today.
Obama received the daily intelligence and economic briefings this morning in his Chicago home. This weekend marks the first time he has slept in his own bed since becoming president. This is in rather marked contrast with former President George W. Bush, who spent so much time at his Texas ranch that it’s hard to count that high in a timely manner.
Much of Obama’s time was taken up with the sudden international crisis occasioned overnight by the backfiring attempt of the Israeli military to turn back a six-vessle flotilla of activists seeking to breech its blockade of Gaza. More about that in a moment.
Obama attended Memorial Day ceremonies at Illinois’s Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery.
There he presented a large wreath.
Obama was to have delivered remarks to a crowd of thousands there, but a violent thunderstorm caused the postponement and ultimate cancellation of the bulk of the ceremonies.
At 1:40 PM Pacific, the Obama family departs Chicago on Air Force One en route to Andrews Air Force Base.
At 3:15 PM Pacific, the Obamas arrive at Andrews Air Force Base, where they board Marine One.
At 3:30 PM Pacific, the Obamas land on the South Lawn of the White House.
For his part, Vice President Jo Biden and Dr. Jill Biden hosted breakfast for Gold Star Families at the White House.
Biden then participated in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns before delivering remarks at the Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery.
Sadly, Memorial Day festivities have largely been overshadowed by the backfiring interdiction by Israeli commandos and naval vessels of a six-vessel flotilla of international activists carrying supplies to break the blockade of Gaza.
The interdiction took place under cover of darkness some 40 to 65 miles away from the Gaza coast, still well within international waters out in the Mediterranean.
Israeli forces jammed communications as they engaged the flotilla of Turkish, Greek, and Irish-flagged vessels, carrying some 750 activists and thousands of tons of supplies. The activist ranks included a Nobel Peace Prize winner and a number of elected officials from various countries.
Helicopter-borne Israeli commandos rappelled onto the decks of the vessels. What happened after that is in dispute. (What happened before it is in some dispute as well, as one Al Jazeera reporter on the lead vessel said the Israeli forces fired on the ship, wounding its captain.)
What we do know is that at least 10 activists were killed, and many more wounded. Several Israeli solders were also wounded.
The Israeli version of events is that they were ready to deal with peace activists, but encountered violent resistance. The Israelis say that two commandos suffered gunshot wounds. But the guns were reportedly taken from the raiding commandos. A few other Israelis were reportedly wounded after being hit with clubs and so forth.
All the activists were detained by Israeli authorities and have not been available to be interviewed.
It’s hardly a surprise that the Israeli commandos would encounter some resistance when they showed up on these vessels in the middle of the night. That’s obvious, so any protestations to the contrary are quite foolish.
The operation was carried out under cover of darkness, far out in the international waters of the Med so as to avoid media coverage. Well, so much for that.
The UN Security Council is in emergency session today on this.
The European Union has denounced the operation. Britain’s new Conservative/Liberal Democrat government has criticized the Israeli move and called for an end to the Gaza blockade. Turkey, Israel’s longtime ally which nonetheless unofficially sponsored this flotilla, has recalled its ambassador and canceled joint Israeli/Turkish military exercises. Condemnations have poured in from around the globe.
Washington and Moscow have offered a very measured response so far, calling for more information.
One immediate political casualty of the early morning raid on the flotilla is tomorrow’s White House meeting between Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu. The Israeli PM was in Canada when the operation went down; he’s returning to Israel, where there are also demands for an inquiry into what looks like a huge fiasco.
Now let’s not be naive. Quite a few peace activists also hate Israel and wish to see it go away. Israelis have genuine existential fears. The Hamas government which currently governs in Gaza is an extremist variant of the Palestinian independence movement and a history of backing terrorism.
Yet the policy of continued settlement by far right religionists in disputed areas only further fans the flames of extremism.
And, in one of those ironies of history, it was actually the Israeli government and the Bush/Cheney Administration which further empowered Hamas. They pushed for separate elections in Gaza a few years back, not thinking that Hamas could win.
Which proved to be yet another miscalculation by then Secretary of State Condi Rice, the conservative Stanford academic who recently resurfaced in TV advertising in California endorsing billionaire Meg Whitman as the right choice for governor.
Rice had no clue what was happening in Gaza, just as she had had no clue what was happening in Iraq when, as Bush’s national security advisor, she was a chief architect of the Iraq War.
FROM THE ARNOLD FILE – MONDAY. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is in Los Angeles today.
He has no scheduled public events.
** MEG WHITMAN’S WHOPPERS. As someone with no experience in public affairs prior to being talked into running for governor by her business mentor, Mitt Romney, Meg Whitman is totally dependent on a coterie of lobbyists and consultants. …
BP’s ballyhooed “top kill,” the latest effort to stop the disastrous Gulf oil spill, has failed despite repeated assurances to the contrary.
** OBAMA TODAY – SUNDAY. President Barack Obama is in Chicago.
He has no scheduled public events.
Despite earlier reports of success, BP admitted on Saturday that the “top kill” effort to stop the Gulf oil spill is a failure, the latest in a string of failures by the company to stop the spill that began on April 20th with the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon offshore oil drilling platform. 11 men died in the catastrophe.
BP is trying something else, another undersea techno-fix, but Obama Administration officials say that the spill may not be stopped until August, by the drilling of relief wells.
In the meantime, however, hurricane season is about to begin. And forecasters say that this year’s hurricanes will in intensity those of 2005, when Hurricane Katrina nearly drowned New Orleans.
Obama is also monitoring geopolitical crises in Korea, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, and Iraq.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE – SUNDAY. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is in Los Angeles.
He has no scheduled public events.
In his weekend video/radio address, President Barack Obama asks all Americans to join him in remembering and honoring those who have died in service to the country.
** OBAMA TODAY – SATURDAY. President Barack Obama is in Chicago today.
He has received his daily intelligence and economic briefings in his private residence there.
Obama has no scheduled public events today.
This is Obama’s first extended visit to Chicago since becoming president.
Obama visited the Gulf Coast yesterday to pledge more federal action on the BP oil disaster, now by far the worst oil spill in American history.
Unfortunately, BP’s much ballyhooed “top kill” procedure to stop the underwater oil flow from the ruptured well by injecting a heavy mud-like substance is not working as advertised.
BP officials, who have given conflicting and evasive reports on the procedure over the past few days, now say they won’t know until Sunday if it is working.
In other action, Vice President Joe Biden is in Washington.
He delivered the commencement address at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland on Friday.
Biden will preside over a number of Memorial Day activities in the Washington area, and will be at Arlington National Cemetery on Monday.
Obama will speak at the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood, Illinois on Memorial Day.
Obama is being slammed by many on the far right for not being at Arlington on Monday, as presidents usually are. But as it happens, a number of Republican presidents have also celebrated Memorial Day away from Washington.
Obama is also monitoring geopolitical crises in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, and Iraq.
The governance situation in Iraq remains unresolved since the March 7th national parliamentary elections.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger discusses the meaning of Memorial Day to him as an immigrant and the recent groundbreaking of new Veterans Homes in California. While Schwarzenegger did not serve in the U.S. Armed Forces, he did serve in the Austrian Army prior to emigrating to America.
FROM THE ARNOLD FILE – SATURDAY. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is in Los Angeles today.
He has no scheduled public events.
… THE CALIFORNIA AS FIRST “FAILED STATE” DEBATE: SCHWARZENEGGER, DAVIS, WHITMAN, AND JERRY BROWN. … From my March 2nd column.
Here is my series of five columns on the governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger for the Los Angeles Times in debate in fall 2008, prior to the global economic meltdown, with Pulitzer Prize-winning former Times reporter/editor Bill Boyarsky, whose columns are also included. You can listen to my video webchat last spring with Schwarzenegger here.
** TIME SLIPS AWAY FOR 24 AND LOST IN VERY DIFFERENT FINALES. I don’t like when somebody comes up to me the next day and says, “Hey, man, I saw your play. It touched me; I cried.” I like it when a guy comes up to me a week later and says, “Hey, man, I saw your play … what happened?”
– off-off-off-off Broadway playwright Jeff Slater (played by Bill Murray) in Tootsie
Two of the most important and popular television series of the past decade had their series finales this week. One, Lost, opted for a relentless, rather gooey positive ending, stepping literally in the last into the light. The other, 24, ended in a far darker, essentially shattering place. Spoilers await. …
** THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK: BILLIONAIRE MEG WHITMAN BATTLES BACK IN THE CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR’S RACE. After finally losing nearly all her lead last week in the Republican primary to succeed Arnold Schwarzenegger as governor of California, billionaire Meg Whitman is battling back against super-rich state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, whom she led a few months ago by a whopping 50 points. She has a lead again, but it’s only about a fifth what it was, and less than her campaign claims. With little more than two weeks to go till the primary, with over a third of the voters still undecided, she’s in a precarious position.
Before delving again into the particulars of this race, let’s pause a moment in wonderment at this spectacle before us. (And yes, this weekend is the 30th anniversary of the launch of a little movie called The Empire Strikes Back.)
Whitman is really showing us the possible future of oligarchic politics if she survives this far more difficult than expected primary and then manages to pull out a victory against Jerry Brown, who’s barely spent a dime so far, in the fall. It’s a possible future of unlimited spending and unlimited spin. Which is also, paradoxically, the problem with her candidacy. … From my May 22nd column.
** AFTER THE AFGHAN SUMMIT: FIVE KEY THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT OBAMA’S PROBLEMATIC PLANS. Now that the pomp and circumstance of last week’s Washington summit between the Obama Administration and Afghan President Hamid Karzai has faded, what is the state of things?
Not very good. Really, not very good at all.
With the much telegraphed U.S., NATO, and Afghan offensive in Kandahar Province — heartland of the Taliban since the movement’s mid-1990s inception in the midst of Afghanistan’s lengthy post-Soviet chaos — on tap for June, the Taliban aren’t exactly cowering in their caves waiting to lose. In fact, they say they’re launching their own offensive.
A sad milestone was reached on Tuesday. With a morning suicide attack against a U.S. military convoy in Kabul, the 1000th American has been killed in action in Afghanistan. … From my May 19th column.
** MEG WHITMAN’S WILD WEEK THAT WAS. … From my May 15th column.
** IRON MAN‘S POST-MODERN HOWARD HUGHES IS BACK AND CONFUSED. … From my May 13th essay.
** MEG WHITMAN’S TITANIC CAMPAIGN FOR GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA. … From my May 7th column.
** “GOLDMEG SACHS WHITMAN” ROILS THE CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR’S RACE. … From my May 3rd column.
** IS OBAMA FINALLY PIVOTING TO THE ECONOMY? … From my April 29th column.
** PUNDITS, BLOGGERS, ACTIVIST LEADERS THINKING OF RUNNING FOR HIGH OFFICE? THINK AGAIN. … From my April 27th column.
** CALIFORNIA STORY: BROWN, BOXER, AND (UN)CONVENTION(AL) POLITICS. … From my April 21st essay.
** JERRY BROWN’S LONG AND WINDING ROAD. … From my April 15th column.
** HOW JERRY BROWN CLEARED THE DEMOCRATIC FIELD FOR GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA. … From my December 9th, 2009 column.
** OBAMA: RIDING WITH HISTORY. (NOTE: As Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States, this column was the featured column on the top of the front page of the Huffington Post.) … From my January 19th, 2009 Huffington Post column.
** HELP FOR HAITI. You can donate to the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, www.clintonbushhaitifund.org, by clicking here.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM RUSSIA TODAY. Russia has re-emerged as one of the world’s great powers. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer, bringing you English-language, jargon-free, fast-paced coverage of global and Russian news from the Russia Today channel. You probably already know about CNN International, BBC World, and Al Jazeera. Russia Today, which also features culture, entertainment, and sports, is based in Moscow and is owned and operated by the TV Novosti division of Russia’s state news agency, RIA Novosti. While it’s quite foolish to expect to see, say, criticism of Vladimir Putin on Russia Today, the channel is very interesting nonetheless. With U.S. cable news chattering away as it does, this sort of respite can be informative. The NWN live link to RT does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM AL JAZEERA. With the US entangled in two wars in the region, it’s valuable to keep up with news and perspectives from the leading Middle Eastern-based TV news network. Based in the Gulf Arab state of Qatar, Al Jazeera is very influential and more than a bit controversial. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer. The NWN live link to AJ does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
** TRACK GLOBAL AND NATIONAL ENERGY PRICES IN NEAR REAL TIME VIA BLOOMBERG ENERGY MARKET WATCH. Having crashed over $147 for yet another record on July 11th, 2008, crude oil closed on Friday at $73.97 per barrel. Energy markets are closed on the weekend,
This is up about $40 from the low of $34 per barrel prior to enactment of the Obama economic recovery program, reflecting a low point in global economic activity.
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| Comments (78) |
Good speech by President Obama for Memorial Day.
I like what Arnold says, too. What is that giant watch he is wearing?
On March 14, 1910, the Lakeview One gusher near Moron, California blew. It spewed 378 million gallons of oil over 18 months. Most of that was diked up and eventually sold on the market. That sure was one hell of a mess, though.
http://wwwstatic.kern.org/images/kcMuseum/1LakevieGushernearMaricopaG.jpg
The Exxon Valdez spill was 10 million gallons from a shipwreck right next to the shore.
This current “British Petroleum” (BP) disaster is about 40 million gallons so far. The images of the President inspecting quarter sized oil blobs are asinine. Forever, Dockweiler Beach in Los Angeles has been dotted with dollar sized oil blobs. You run on the beach, you get these yucky black oil patches on your feet that transfer to your home. Oil is lighter than seawater, and thousands of years of incessant earthquakes and crust faults cause deep oil to seep to the surface.
Laugh at the current Disaster Industrial Complex, the DIC. NBC seems to be the worst. They peddle this N1H1 panic for over a year, and the disease was a complete bust. Government still runs TV, print, and online ads today warning people of N1H1 Swing Flu and to use their precious vaccines. Even today!
The country needs to switch to Natural Gas asap. Natural Gas drilling does involve drilling but the spills won’t be these insane oil spews. Pretty much overnight, President Obama could demand that all future government purchases of fleet vehicles be run by NG. He can do that right now but he does not; he inspects quarter sized oil blobs.
Dude! Moron, California? Can you ever get anything straight?
What is all that stuff in Arnold’s office?
Bill?
Jonas Blane says:
May 29, 2010 at 10:22 am
I like what Arnold says, too. What is that giant watch he is wearing?
Capitol Boy – Moron changed its name to Taft. Idiot. It is walking distance.
It’s another very good speech by Barack.
Jonas Blane says:
May 29, 2010 at 10:19 am
Good speech by President Obama for Memorial Day.
Oh, really now. Why didn’t you say so in the first place?
Maybe because Taft is INLAND, in Kern County near Bakersfield, and NOWHERE NEAR AN OCEAN?
Maybe??
Jackass.
Sam Loomis says:
May 29, 2010 at 11:25 am
Capitol Boy – Moron changed its name to Taft. Idiot. It is walking distance.
I agree, Capitol Boy is an idiot.
378 million gallons of oil spilled near, gasp, Bakersfield is still a big deal. My original comment has a picture which even Capitol Boy should be able to understand. Perhaps there was some overestimation there.
Capitol Boy obviously has little knowledge of California geography and has never driven from Bakersfield to Taft. The two places are not even “close”. “Capitol” of what?
I googled it. Taft is near Bakersfield.
Mr.Bradley, another great HuffPo front pager on the governor’s race today.
I like the 24/Lost essay better though.
> Requiem says: I googled it. Taft is near Bakersfield.
I dare you to drive it and say Taft (formerly known as Moron) is close to Bakersfield. Regardless, one laughs at the evilness of the insinuation that proximity to Bakersfield somehow excuses a 378 million gallon oil spill.
Bakersfield!
Do these so-called Capitol oriented boys even believe their rhetoric? It is simply ridiculous. Bakersfield is California too. What is California, anyway?
Pay no attention to 378 million gallon oil spills near Bakersfield.
I can’t verify this latest story of yours.
As fate would have it, “Dr.” Loomis, I once had a candidate who was born in Taft.
It’s about a 50-mile drive across a moonscape from Bakersfield. Which is nearby, as San Jose is nearby San Francisco and Orange County is nearby Los Angeles.
> Sam Loomis says:
May 29, 2010 at 12:19 pm (Edit)
> Requiem says: I googled it. Taft is near Bakersfield.
I dare you to drive it and say Taft (formerly known as Moron) is close to Bakersfield. Regardless, one laughs at the evilness of the insinuation that proximity to Bakersfield somehow excuses a 378 million gallon oil spill.
Bakersfield!
Do these so-called Capitol oriented boys even believe their rhetoric? It is simply ridiculous. Bakersfield is California too. What is California, anyway?
You are correct.
> Requiem says:
May 29, 2010 at 12:04 pm (Edit)
I googled it. Taft is near Bakersfield.
You are wrong.
> Sam Loomis says:
May 29, 2010 at 11:37 am (Edit)
Capitol Boy obviously has little knowledge of California geography and has never driven from Bakersfield to Taft. The two places are not even “close”. “Capitol” of what?
Thanks, I appreciate it!
> Requiem says:
May 29, 2010 at 12:06 pm (Edit)
Mr.Bradley, another great HuffPo front pager on the governor’s race today.
I like the 24/Lost essay better though.
Very nice.
> Capitol Boy says:
May 29, 2010 at 11:27 am (Edit)
Oh, really now. Why didn’t you say so in the first place?
Maybe because Taft is INLAND, in Kern County near Bakersfield, and NOWHERE NEAR AN OCEAN?
Maybe??
Jackass.
Sam Loomis says:
May 29, 2010 at 11:25 am
Capitol Boy – Moron changed its name to Taft. Idiot. It is walking distance.
Yes, yawn, another good speech. Excellence has become routine …
> Capitol Boy says:
May 29, 2010 at 11:26 am (Edit)
It’s another very good speech by Barack.
Jonas Blane says:
May 29, 2010 at 10:19 am
Good speech by President Obama for Memorial Day.
Stow it.
> Sam Loomis says:
May 29, 2010 at 11:34 am (Edit)
I agree, Capitol Boy is an idiot.
378 million gallons of oil spilled near, gasp, Bakersfield is still a big deal. My original comment has a picture which even Capitol Boy should be able to understand. Perhaps there was some overestimation there.
Arnold likes a rich, cluttered environment. This is a man who is not short on memorabilia …
> Capitol Boy says:
May 29, 2010 at 11:22 am (Edit)
What is all that stuff in Arnold’s office?
Bill?
Jonas Blane says:
May 29, 2010 at 10:22 am
I like what Arnold says, too. What is that giant watch he is wearing?
If you don’t understand that an oil spill in the ocean is far more significant than a purported spill in a desert, you should seek guidance in logical thinking.
> Sam Loomis says:
May 29, 2010 at 11:09 am (Edit)
On March 14, 1910, the Lakeview One gusher near Moron, California blew. It spewed 378 million gallons of oil over 18 months. Most of that was diked up and eventually sold on the market. That sure was one hell of a mess, though.
http://wwwstatic.kern.org/images/kcMuseum/1LakevieGushernearMaricopaG.jpg
The Exxon Valdez spill was 10 million gallons from a shipwreck right next to the shore.
This current “British Petroleum” (BP) disaster is about 40 million gallons so far. The images of the President inspecting quarter sized oil blobs are asinine. Forever, Dockweiler Beach in Los Angeles has been dotted with dollar sized oil blobs. You run on the beach, you get these yucky black oil patches on your feet that transfer to your home. Oil is lighter than seawater, and thousands of years of incessant earthquakes and crust faults cause deep oil to seep to the surface.
Laugh at the current Disaster Industrial Complex, the DIC. NBC seems to be the worst.
I’m not sure which watch that is.
> Jonas Blane says:
May 29, 2010 at 10:22 am (Edit)
I like what Arnold says, too. What is that giant watch he is wearing?
Bill Bradley – Your job is obviously to shill the deal these days. One day you were great. Today you are not. One thing I do hope for is for some day you to make gobs of money shilling what’s good for the state and country, not for yourself.
This industry of political advocacy is completely evil. Think of those tree bark beetles. If you are one of those tree bark beetles, you totally want your community and every beetle you know, and all the beetle advocates you have in the state legislature to peddle your mission. Your mission is to eat and poison all pine trees to extinction. Any beetle you know opposed to this is a complete idiot. You want and deserve more, more, more. In your eyes, your people deserve every gram of extraction you get from every other entity.
Well, good luck with that. Bill, I hate you. That wasn’t always true or deserved.
What a deranged fellow.
You are very welcome, sir.
Bill Bradley says:
May 29, 2010 at 1:04 pm
Thanks, I appreciate it!
> Requiem says:
May 29, 2010 at 12:06 pm (Edit)
Mr.Bradley, another great HuffPo front pager on the governor’s race today.
I like the 24/Lost essay better though.
Thank you. I felt sure I knew how to use Google.
Bill Bradley says:
May 29, 2010 at 1:03 pm
You are correct.
> Requiem says:
May 29, 2010 at 12:04 pm (Edit)
I googled it. Taft is near Bakersfield.
Bill Bradley wrote:
> If you don’t understand that an oil spill …
By the way, my post in no way said the 378 million gallon 1910 spill “near Bakersfield” was more harmful than the 40 million gallon BP spill in The Gulf of Mexico or the 10 million gallon spill by the Exxon Valdez in Alaska. Keep trying; you continue to fail.
This country and state needs to aggressively go after natural gas as fuel for cars, especially for government fleets.
There is no one better suited in this administration to attend the Memorial Day events in Washington in honour of the troops, veterans and all those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for their nation than Vice President Biden, bar none.
I would suspect that the people who are complaining about President Obama not being there – whether they are coming from the right, the left or anywhere in between – are the same people who fail to understand the deeply significant and valuable contributions that Biden brings to this administration, from both a foreign and domestic policy standpoint.
But, what they mostly fail to understand is Biden’s long-standing and unshakable commitment to all members of the armed forces and his deeply held belief that the only sacred obligation of government is to the troops and veterans.
Here’s wishing everyone a reflective Memorial Day and, as VP Biden always ends his speeches, “May God protect our troops!”
“Obama is being slammed by many on the far right for not being at Arlington on Monday, as presidents usually are. But as it happens, a number of Republican presidents have also celebrated Memorial Day away from Washington.”
I love the use of “they” here:
“But, what they mostly fail to understand …”
It’s like these guys watch Fox News 24/7 to figure out what the enemy is thinking…
Well, most of “us” see Fox News as the show biz BS that it is. Keep on hoping. Keep the hope alive. Keep on dreaming…
Oh yeah. Keep watching FNC to see what Republicans and Conservatives are up to.
Sarah Palin and the Conservative Republicans keep shouting “Drill, Baby, Drill”. !!! OMG those guys are such idiots. Why would anyone be conservative? Or Republican? Or want small government? Such idiots.
Sam,
The ‘they’ I was referring to are those who are complaining about President Obama not being in Washington to preside over the Memorial Day events.
Are you one of them?
For the record…Taft is less than 50 miles from Bakersfield…
Sam, take your meds. Please.
What freaking ever. The California 378 million gallon spill in 1910 was one hell of a mess.
What sort of video today?
Sam,
Control yourself, lad. Take your meds and calm down. Now go back and apologize to by buddy, Capitol Boy, for saying he was wrong about the distance between Bakersfield and Taft. You treated him like an unloved dog and that just wasn’t right. You can’t pick on my friend, buddy, pal and expect not to have it come back your way. So, yes, perhaps an oil spill out in the middle of nowhere in 1910 was one hell of a mess. But, Sam, no bigger mess than you caused by treating Capitol Boy like a redheaded stepchild after a Saturday night of heavy drinking. I, sir, am both shocked and saddened by that and feel the only right thing for you to do is seek his forgiveness.
By the way, were you there in 1910? If so, perhaps you could give us a detailed account.
Cheers
Good news video of the Top Kill failure.
BP’s lies and incompetence are very infuriating.
Thanks, Solon, but you can’t reason with a drunken crank…
Sacramento Solon says:
May 30, 2010 at 7:02 am
Sam,
Control yourself, lad. Take your meds and calm down. Now go back and apologize to by buddy, Capitol Boy, for saying he was wrong about the distance between Bakersfield and Taft. You treated him like an unloved dog and that just wasn’t right. You can’t pick on my friend, buddy, pal and expect not to have it come back your way. So, yes, perhaps an oil spill out in the middle of nowhere in 1910 was one hell of a mess. But, Sam, no bigger mess than you caused by treating Capitol Boy like a redheaded stepchild after a Saturday night of heavy drinking. I, sir, am both shocked and saddened by that and feel the only right thing for you to do is seek his forgiveness.
By the way, were you there in 1910? If so, perhaps you could give us a detailed account.
Cheers
Please approve and post my recent comment that was apparently rejected and dropped. Thanks. I apologize for offending.
You know, you guys are commenting on the posts the host of this blog want you to see. You are not commenting on the blog comments I have submitted. Again – what freaking ever.
NWN is one of the greatest blogs.
I *love* the comments from the pedestrian environmentalists that somehow massive oil spills in the desert don’t harm much. Moron is expendable we are told. Deserts have very rich animal and plant life. What amateur idiots. Talk to your environmentalist friends who are schooled in the stuff and likely to know about such things. Even the most politically liberal of environmentalists love the desert.
The insinuation is asinine.
Sam,
Once again you have managed to offend me. I love the desert. My people are from the desert (not close to Taft, but desert nonetheless). We came out of the desert and started living in Miami Beach…and that’s even before it had air conditioning…life was tough. We also opened a couple joints in New York, which isn’t much of a desert even I will admit. Have you ever been to either, Sam?
Memorial Day, Sam. Don’t insult a vet on Memorial Day. Even though it’s a day to remember those who have given much more than the three years I gave, it’s still not nice to not be nice to a vet at this time of year.
And, always remember, no moron is expendable…not even…
Cheers,
Sacramento Solon – Please explain why you hate desert so much. Your “offensitivity” is bizarre. Insult a vet? SacSolon, you are the insane one for conflating a 1910 378 million gallon oil spill in California with veterans appreciation and opening joints in New York. Oh the compassion. Oh the compassion for the “us”. Ok, yeah for your ancestors for selling bagels in New York in 1950. What Freaking Ever. WFE.
378 million gallons!!!
Really, Sacramento Solon, please explain the connection. This will be good. Please explain how you think you are not insane for connecting 1950 NY Bagel Shops with 378 million gallon oil spills in California. Really.
California deserts are beautiful.
Just popped on to wish everyone here who served, in both danger and drudgery, a happy Memorial Day.
Thank you for your service.
Brasky – What? No compassion for Sacramento Solon’s ancestors who ran New York Bagel Shops in the 1950′s? What the hell is wrong with you? The horror. Where’s the compassion?! Brasky, don’t insult vets on Memorial Day. Idiot.
Sam,
My people never had bagel shops in the 50′s. We stuck exclusive with desserts. I love desserts. Do you love desserts? I once had a great dessert in Taft…it was fairly close to the desert, but that’s another story for a different time and place. Ever been to Taft, Sam?
And don’t pick on Brasky. Lot him any more tha CB…
You a vet, Sam? Or did the booze and meds get you a 4F?