Gulf Oil Spill - Disaster or Not?

President Obama just can't win.  Let me explain. Like many I was devastated by the recent gulf oil spill started 100 days ago by a tragedy that caused the deaths of people...sometimes we forget that part of the story...it seems lost in the media coverage of people out of jobs, and the animals and wildlife affected.  Everyone wanted action, and wanted it now!  If the President wasn't talking about the issue, or visiting, or was vacationing somewhere else instead of somewhere near the Gulf, or vacationing at all, or...or...or, the media made sure we knew about it. He declared a moratorium on drilling, and that was a bad thing according to some, good according to others...but it was something.  What does one do during a time of what appears to be a huge disaster? We saw images of devastation each day, families who's livelihood came from fishing no longer able to fish, globs of oil on shorelines, aerial views of oil on the surface of the ocean, blame being placed on BP by the administration...someone has to take the blame, after all.

Now, after months, a cap is in place, for a week or two millions of gallons of oil are no longer gushing from the ocean floor...and now the media is reporting that there doesn't seem to be that much oil to be found after all...where's the oil?  Those that know more than me say that much has evaporated, much eaten by bacteria, and maybe some is floating around down there in the depths.  So the new approach to the President and his administration is that they have made a disaster out of nothing...it appears this isn't such a big deal after all, hopefully, and as far as I'm concerned, President Obama just can't win...whether it's a disaster or not. 

There are many things I'm NOT happy about with the present administration, but it's these kinds of things that make me realize just how foolish we can be sometimes. 

I do have a great concern for natural and man-made disasters, as expressed on this Natural Disasters page I created.

Is Border Control A Political Issue, I Once Asked

If it wasn't during the months that lead up to the Presidential election, then surely it is now with Federal Government suing the Arizona government in an attempt to overturn their Immigration laws.   As tough-as-nails Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer has said, Arizona having to pay for a lawsuit like this for taking action to protect their borders is going to be a waste of taxpayers dollars that could be better spent in the task of protecting their borders.

There was a time I was conflicted about this subject, but I'm learning more and more as follow the Arizona story, and watch video's of illegals coming across the borders in droves, and concern grows about our Country being open to not only illegal immigrants, but terrorists.

I may have been a little softer in 2008, here's what I had to say back then:

The media says that the virtual fence that they were originally going to put along the border of the US and Mexico isn't going to happen as quickly as they originally thought. Technology, money, whatever the reason, it brings up thoughts about discussions that my husband and I have had about the issue.

I struggle with the whole issue, whether it's used as a political issue to leverage votes or not. I'm a compassionate person...this isn't saying hubby isn't, but let me explain. We have more Mexicans living close to us here in Northern NJ than we ever have, I don't remember any living nearby even just 5 years ago, but now there is a whole community of them in a town very close to us. I think they may congregate there because there is a place that caters to people that are looking for day laborers.

My husband is from Colorado, this isn't new to him. When he came out here close to 30 years ago, seeing so many black Americans was a new thing to him. Oh please, when you're reading this, don't think I'm going to speak out against any races, I'm not, it just fits in with the topic here.

Anyway, hubby is kind of cut and dry about the whole issue, Mexicans are getting into the country illegally, so any Mexican we see is suspect, possibly an illegal alien. It brings up huge controversial discussions between us every time we see a Mexican, because I don't want prejudiced thinking to begin. I see this controversy as something that can stimulate negative thinking towards a people group. He says the fact that they are people that God loves and we should care about them isn't the issue, the issue is that they are people that God loves that are criminals and need to be held accountable, and shouldn't be here if they are here illegally. 

And so the struggle goes on, in the Nation, in our home.

We Don't Want to Forget Tony Snow

Last week my husband was watching the news, as is his usual custom over dinner after we've shared a bit about the day - not my favorite atmosphere for a dinner - but he's been at work all day and is kicking back, what can I say? As we were watching, the smiling face of Tony Snow flashed on the screen...in a collage of other faces...I don't even remember what the report was about, but remember my heart sinking a bit, realizing how much my husband and I both miss him.

This lead to me digging back through some old archives of blog posts I'd backed up off an old now-closed blog, and here is what I found, posted on the 12th day of July, 2008...can it really be 2 years ago already? Sigh....here's the post:

"My husband and I were enjoying a peaceful Saturday morning, when I downloaded my email late in the morning and received a CNN email alert that Tony Snow had passed from here to heaven at about 2 am (they didn't say it that way, but I'm sure that's where he is.) It was a blow to read this, hubby and I have appreciated Tony for many reasons over the years.


We were both so excited when he became President Bush's White House Press Secretary, and sorry when he had to step down. He was able to keep a positive demeanor in every situation we saw him in. My husband sent an email to Snow when he was recuperating quite a while back letting him know he was prayed for, because we knew Tony Snow to be a man of prayer and faith. He received an email reply that was written in a personal way, we like to think Tony Snow took the time to reply himself in spite of his busy life, but whether he needed help to respond or not, it was a warm and gracious response.


Our prayers are now for the family he leaves behind, his wife, and I believe a son and two daughters. In my thinking, he was too young to die, but he is in God's wonderful care now, whole, perfect, how can you wish one back from that? Still, we will miss him."

Do I Miss President Bush?

I just came across this image again...the Bush "Do You Miss Me" Billboard, with his pleasant and warm smile, a man with a kind heart...and have to say yes, I do miss him. I can't help but think about the things he had to face as President...especially 9/11...can it really be almost 9 years since that happened? We were united and supportive for a relatively short time, and most of the Presidency was faced with criticism...very occasionally warranted, but more often than not rooted in a hard to understand animosity. I'll never forget going to a local Div. of Motor Vehicles to register a car or some such thing, not long after he had become President, and finding a rather odd woman standing outside at her own little table standing up for some organization I had never heard of accusing the President of being like Hitler. Oy, I can't tell you how upset that made me, and the self-control that I had to exert to NOT respond in anger myself.

Yes, Mr. Bush, I do miss you, but I'm glad you are getting a rest from all the media abuse that you often received while in office, and one thing I can be confident in is that you are praying for our Nation.

Our First Tea Party Event

My husband has wanted to go to one of the now-popular Tea Party events for some time now...I still tend to be cautious about anything political...maybe to a fault, but that's me.  But I was just as curious as he was, so off we went on 4th of July weekend to our first event in historic Morristown, New Jersey.  It was a perfect weather day, just before the heat wave came into our area, and the park was a nice setting, so I was happy, even if the event turned out to be something I didn't like.


The crowd was peaceful...some carrying signs or wearing t-shirts expressing their views and walking quietly among the people.  The speakers were good for the most part, I'm still getting used to taking a stand against things that the leader of our Nation does verbally in front of people, I guess I'm trying to sort out the difference between respecting our leaders, and knowing how to express what I don't like in the right way, so sat quietly and just observed.


One of my favorite parts of the event was the reading of the Declaration of Independence, so appropriate for the weekend, and a reminder of what our Founders wanted for our Nation.


I can't say that I saw anyone that was as "Mad As Hell (click here)" as one book title expresses it, but there were people who weren't afraid to take a stand against what seems to be the most confusing administration I've ever lived through.


So we've gone to our first event...would I do it again?  Sure...I'm keeping an open mind, and measuring what is happening against the values our Nation was founded on.