This pollution should be more than a "concern"

Concerns over ash pond pollution grows

"By the time that slide occurred, however, the problems that coal-ash residue can cause had already been part of life for nearly two years here at the site of the Gibson power plant, the nation's third-largest coal facility owned by Duke Energy.

Ash ponds — ponds filled with ash waste — at the Gibson plant tainted both a new wildlife sanctuary for endangered birds and the drinking water of the small community of East Mount Carmel in 2007. Two years later, the cleanup is still ongoing."

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This is one of the more ridiculous things I've read lately - and there have been plenty to choose from.

This problem was "concerning" nearly two years ago - when the pollution was discovered. The fact that it is STILL a problem and according to this article NOT being resolved is disgusting - not "concerning."

These people have been living on bottled water all this time. I never read anything about this in the media. The EPA says it has identified 60 sites where pollution is at least suspected - if not a known problem.

What are they? The town crier?

EPA - DO SOMETHING!!!

Fine the crap out of Duke Energy. They bought the plant, they bought the problem but you, EPA are charged with making them clean up the mess - not hide it for two years until a larger disaster occurs.

Incredible...and so much for the "new wildlife sanctuary" - even humans can't live there....

No more bailout - fraud should mean jailtime...

Analysis: Some homes loans were through the roof

Between the greedy mortgage companies who broke their own lending standards, (loan to value, etc), and the borrowers who went after a loan - maybe an adjustable rate loan, with a total amount 4 times their annual income, what can you say but...

FRAUD!

This is consumer level doing exactly what corporate level was doing on Wall Street. And what do they get?

FREE MONEY.

Where is the penalty for crimes committed? And why is this now MY problem too?

And then there are the military contractors...

"The Navy - which is in charge of overseeing the helicopter program - reported to Congress in January that its price tag had nearly doubled. That notification triggered a formal process mandating the program be re-certified as a national security requirement by senior Pentagon leadership.

The Navy waited nearly a year before formally disclosing the information to lawmakers as it sought to find ways to keep the program within budget. Those efforts failed."

McCain questions Obama about helicopter at summit.

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So, the Navy finally tells Congress last month that they can't deliver the product they were selected (and have been getting paid), to deliver unless they get paid nearly double the AGREED upon price. Instead, they want to re-certify, meaning reconfigure, the nature of the contract to suit the fact that they are failing to deliver.

And how funny that McCain is questioning the cost overruns. The Navy has been playing fast and loose with this program for over a year. Did McCain discuss this issue during his campaign? Did he have that disbelieving little look on his face over this billion+ dollar contract that was already out of control? I don't remember hearing about it. Did he ask George or Dick about it? Not sure.

This government procurement process is so out of control you'd think it was Wall Street. Apparently the Navy has had the same misconception - that American taxpayers are just sitting around waiting to throw away money - as Congress has of us.

This is FRAUD and nothing less and no penalty for doing so. Why is Lockheed-Martin not required to pay a hefty fine for every single day they don't deliver? Where is the accountability? Why is there even a contracting process when no one follows it anyway?

This system needs a major overhaul. Government contracting does not work if contracts are not honored.

FUBAR - New definition for a new era

Federal Undertaking (to) Bankrupt All Responsible (people)


This relates to all and any of us taxpayers who:

• Did not refinance - despite sky high appraisals and industry "inducements"
• Did not "cash out" the roof from our homes
• Did not obligate ourselves to high interest consumer debt with the "free" proceeds
• Are now forced to pay the same price as those who did
  

Anyone else? Open to suggestions...

Sweeping Bush under the rug....

Will Obama back 'truth commission' to probe Bush practices?

Bush & Company will never be fully investigated or exposed for their criminal and fraudulent activity. The reason given will be that the nation has too many other problems to solve.

Duh! Bush caused those too didn't he? If you leave a big enough mess behind you, you can be sure those left batting clean-up will have far too much to do to catch all your blunders.

His entire reign of stupidity was planned to work this way - right to the end...

"EARNED legalization" ??

Commentary: Time for immigration reform is now

I can't say I understand what Mr. Navarette means by the term, "earned legalization." How does one earn legality?

If I rob a bank - I go to jail. If I do my time I become an ex-con. Not sure if that's earning back legality. If I enter this country illegally and I stay below the radar long enough - I can earn legality.

This is one of the more ignorant ideas I've read on this subject.

Mr. Navarette states later in his commentary that he suggests this sudden gift from the US Government only apply to those who entered the country illegally before the year 2000.

WHAT? What about the poor illegals who entered in 2001? Who is now going to cry for them?

This whole issue is a joke and the semantics of the words "legal" and "illegal" continue to be misused and misapplied to what is actually a massive problem for the country. This is not a discussion regarding reform. It's an amnesty program - call it what it is....

Girl Scouts robbed while selling cookies

What can be in the mind of a person who is willing to rob third graders?

Think about it.

You see a couple of 9 year-old girls selling Girl Scout cookies outside a Walgreens. The "normal" person immediately starts thinking about their favorite type of cookie and maybe wonders how many boxes they should buy.

Not this low-life in San Antonio.

He cases the sales table from inside the store, walks up as if he is a prospective customer, grabs the money from sales the girls already made, and runs for it.

Incredible that this sub-human man decided HIS desire for an unearned $250 was more important than the effort and mental health of a few Girl Scouts. I guess we are to be relieved he didn't flash a knife or gun at them.

What can one DO with $250 these days anyway? Not much, and definitely not much that is any excuse for stealing from 9 year old girls.

I hope they catch him and throw him in jail. I'd hate to be him on the inside when the other prisoners find out about his crime. Probably a lot of "Thin Mint" lovers in there...

Some illegal immigrants might get stimulus-related jobs

More of the same. Condoning and promoting illegal immigrants with more taxpayer dollars.

If you're illegal - feel "profiled"

"Study faults local immigration enforcement"


I could have guessed this article was written by the same reporter for the Raleigh (NC), News & Observer newspaper.

Every single article she's ever written is pro-immigration and she seems to have no problem supporting illegal immigrants as well. She's part of the overall problem with the immigration issue in this Country - there is NO mental break between "legal" and "illegal."

Ms. Collins latest effort is to publicize a recent study conducted by UNC law students and members of the ACLU. They have decided the 287(g) program is just not fair to Hispanics.

• There would not be a 287(g) program if not for the overwhelming number of illegal Hispanics in the US.

If I was a Hispanic, legally in this Country, I would be more interested in getting the illegal Hispanics OUT of the Country than being concerned about 287(g). If there were not so many issues with illegal immigrants of Hispanic origin, legal Hispanics would not have to worry about 287(g) policies or profiling.

Not being Hispanic and living in an area with a huge Hispanic population for which the County Board of Commissioners just decided to NOT work the 287(g) program, I am more than worried - I'm furious.

I am at high risk of being involved in a vehicle accident with someone who has no valid driver's license and no insurance. "Oh well", say the Board of Commissioners.

My property "revaluation" has just jumped a considerable amount - partially to fund more local schools while the non-Hispanic population of school-age children in the County is decreasing. Hmmmm.....

The County will now all but look the other way when a Hispanic is involved with any sort of criminal activity. This is an implied stamp of approval for illegal immigrants and illegal behavior. I call it reverse discrimination - of ALL legal citizens - of ALL ethnic origins.

I find it humorous in an annoying way, that illegal people feel profiled. Other criminals are profiled - then they make a television show about it....

Chimp was given Xanax

Chimp attack 911 call: 'He's ripping her apart'

I can not believe the stupidity of some humans. They state the animal was "acting strange" so they decided to drug his tea because it seems Xanax was just lying around the house. Then the animal goes berserk and is shot and killed.

Animals do not respond to human medications as if they were human. That being said, Xanax has been proven to cause numerous side effects in humans along with the very responses exhibited by the chimp.

I'm not sure why any human would put this stuff in their body. Giving it to an animal seems criminal behavior to me. These people paid the price for jumping on the Big Pharma quick fix rather than applying some common sense first.

Browser crud...

I've won most of my browser wars since I first started coding html in 1994. I just spent a third of today trying to figure out WHY I could not get any Yahoo Buzz or AddThis code to work properly on this blog.

Surprise! Surprise! I was doing it right all along. But I was slammed by the old "browser incompatibility" issue - shades of the past. Unfortunately, although I am loyal to Firefox as a browser, it really let me down today.

After adding the code snippet in the correct location in the html layout template using Firefox, it kept coughing up error messages when trying to "Preview" or "Save" the template.

Several attempts later, moved over to an IE browser in total frustration, added the code in exactly the same spot on the template and appear it did - in apparently proper working order.

Hope this saves someone a few hours of time...

Oil drilling not popular with the "public"...

Once again I read about drilling for oil along the US coastline.

Although there is at least a mention that the new Interior Secretary, Salazar, and the new administration MAY acknowledge it as a "short-sighted move", there is still cause for concern.

In the next paragraph of the article, they discourage me by mentioning that drilling is "popular with the public." Oh really? What public?

Would that be the public that was seen - thanks to the media - singing their Palin "Drill baby, drill", mantra? I hope not. That was apparently the only three-word phase Palin could say and not create some new faux pas. She had nothing else TO say.

I might also remind those currently contemplating this drilling issue that those people mentioned above, LOST THE CAMPAIGN - big time! This is not a sign to ME that the public was enthralled with this message - outside the pretend aura of media coverage.

There are so many reasons why drilling our coasts is an ignorant idea. But one thing easiest to understand is that oil and gas companies already have thousands of acres under "lease" on which they are doing nothing for this country. This is lease and hold and "mine, mine, mine", and now they want more.

They talk about the expense of drilling. I can tell Exxon is not hurting for exploration funds - we filled those coffers last year.

It would be ten years or more before the "public" MAY see oil from leases granted. Ten years. Do you think OPEC and others will not be doing any further price fixing during those ten years? Think again. Exxon and the Bush family will always make their money. This has nothing to do with the price we paid for a gallon of gas last year. Lifting the drill ban had nothing to do with the prices dropping. The ban lift was another Bush ploy - like sending out dollars he didn't have last year to everyone - as if he had the money, and that it did anything to help the economy.

Bush is gone thank God. He's done incredible damage to this country - based on a lot of smoke and mirrors and flat out lies to the American people. I hope the new administration is a little more focused on new solutions to an oil dependency that had me standing in line for gasoline 30 years ago.

Marvin Gaye said, "War is not the answer....."

Neither is oil....

"Blackwater" - gone but not forgotten

I don't care what they change their name to - this company should NEVER be allowed to get another government contract. I certainly don't want them receiving - after the $1 billion they've already been given - ONE MORE TAX DOLLAR.

Some points of note regarding Blackwater:

• Involved in over 200 suspicious shooting incidents.
• Sued by families of their own now-deceased employees - stating that Blackwater failed to actually USE those tax gifts to properly protect employees in a war zone.
• Have 6 employees who have already been charged with manslaughter.
• Have the company based offshore so they evade taxes other US businesses pay.
  

Erik Prince and crew are business savvy - I'll give them that. They've probably already been told by lawyers and insiders that a simple business name change will keep them in the mix for the future.

Since this war is continuing beyond the Bush instigation, I really hope someone in the new administration takes a long, hard look at Blackwater AND at "XE." This business model and others, like KBR (thank you Dick Cheney), really need to be disallowed.

In rural Alaska villages, families struggle to survive

This is a horrible story. Once again Native Americans are barely surviving on American soil and the government is crunching numbers and shifting paperwork trying decide if and when they will help. I feel even worse for these people for having to rely on Governor/celebrity Palin for assistance.

In the meantime, hundreds of billions of dollars are being GIVEN AWAY to the financial industry.

This is just WRONG.

These people who live in Nunam Iqua, Alaska need help NOW. They are starving while paying $22 a dozen for EGGS! Who amongst us in the lower 48 would not be starving in the same situation?

The government has money left over from Katrina - SEND IT! Do people have to die before they get an offer of help? In an environment of 20 degrees below zero - dying they will be!

Alaska needs to review/revise or reject it's current rules about what economic levels allow for disaster assistance to it's residents. The current rules are obviously not in tune with the times.

Cleanup in Aisle 7 !

"Oil sludge oozes into Des Plaines River"

• It's okay though. No worries. It was only between 4500 and 6000 GALLONS of oil sludge this time - last seen "oozing into the Des Plaines River".

"The thousands of gallons that leaked into the river killed an unspecified number of wildlife -- "nothing bigger than your hand," mostly fish and frogs, U.S. Coast Guard spokesman William Mitchell said early Monday."

• Killed an "unspecified" number of wildlife? And size DOES matter?

The company responsible, Caterpillar, hasn't offered specifics. Don't hold your breath on reading them or hearing about them either. One brief headline and the media will make this little news item disappear. Too bad the oil sludge does not leave the scene as quickly.

This is not like accidentally dropping a jar of Bertolli's in the supermarket.

It's an oil spill. It has killed and will kill more fish and frogs. The long-term impacts will never be known. Fines, if any, will be minor for a company the size of Caterpillar - and they will move on with an "Oh well" attitude.

I'm beginning to think no more than a handful of people in this country even care anymore. Those who touted the "Drill baby" b.s. last fall apparently don't care since these little spills seem to be on the increase and the damage is permanent, but the push for more drilling continues.

The whole attitude of the article is "Oh well." There would be more commotion over that dropped jar of Bertolli's in my local grocery store. Cleanup would be immediate even though chances are, no living thing would die.

56-year-old becomes 1st woman to swim Atlantic

Impressive...

Ashley Judd, Sarah Palin at odds over aerial wolf hunt

Defenders of Wildlife is not an "extreme fringe group." I've been a member for over 7 years and am certainly not "extreme" or "fringe" merely because the plight of animals in today's world concerns me.

Palin's "fringe" activities, however, are well known to many and any who are part of any organization that is concerned about the senseless slaughter of animals. This is not "new" news.

Her other statements seem to convey that Alaskans agree with her position on this issue - they don't. The articles are out there to read if anyone is actually concerned with the truth. Safari Club members do not all "live in the State of Alaska" as Palin claims. But, they are close-by residents since they live in Palin's pocket - or vice versa - depending on how you look at it.

This woman continues to be a blight on the State of Alaska and the Country. I really wish she would take her dysfunctional, power-hungry husband and go home - where it appears her children need more of her attention.

Wells Fargo reconsiders posh Vegas casino retreat amid criticism

Amazing the level of surprise these corporations express when the retreats, as they call them, are exposed.

The very idea that mortgage writers are the recipients of this "retreat" is appalling. Mortgage writers are the very people who allowed loans that were, by industry standards alone, doomed to fail. They pocketed the fees and the points and went on to write mortgages another day.

Now, their oblivion continues as they "retreat" at taxpayer's expense. Those of us not part of this game in the first place are really not surprised. It was obvious three or more years ago that the banking and mortgage "house of cards" would fall - and fall it has.

We are forced to hand over tax dollars - to the deficit of programs that may make a real difference in our lives - to bolster the bottom line and the egos of those proven incapable of making solid business and financial decisions.

Greed is still King....

There is no penalty - and there are no "lessons learned"....

How many $$ of bailout money per taxpayer?

"$1.519 trillion divided by 156.3 million equals $9,718.49 per U.S. taxpayer."

Instead, we are paying executive bonuses. We can give 8,333.33 bonuses at $180 million dollars a piece. Good thing we are only borrowing it from our grandchildren!

An appalling waste of hard-earned dollars - obviously "Hard-earned dollars" are not a concept executives are aware of....