whale Sea Cape Cod by Michael Mosier » 2010 » May

Sea Cape Cod by Michael Mosier

Coming soon: Link to Waterfront Photography, in historic downtown Hyannis, Massachusetts, Cape Cod, USA 02651

May 31, 2010

Flag of our Fathers

Filed under: Blog — Michael @ 7:50 am

Greetings and salutations from the sand, sun and surf of Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket!  Happy Memorial Day to all!  This day is reserved for the remembering of fallen soldiers, who died in the service of their country…a country that has been blessed by so many gifts.  We think back to the beginning, the Revolutionary War, and the epic battle over tyranny and the defense of a newly formed document forging the immortal words, “All men are created equal…”, “Of the people, by the people and for the people,” and “WE THE PEOPLE”.  As this young country emerged into a real nation of laws, we entered another dangerous phase of our development, as brother was pitted against brother in the bloodiest war this country ever fought, a war it fought with itself, the Civil War.  Fighting for the acid test of our Forefathers words, the Union defeated the Confederate south in the most obvious of all battles–freeing ALL men and women, forced to these shores a century earlier to work the plantations as slaves, thereby re-enforcing the definition of our birthright…The Bill of Rights. The struggles against blatant aggression continued into the early 20th century, with a young country entering the conflicts of its origin, Europe, defending allies created in “time”… By the 1930’s, the United States was again called upon to help rid the world of other ruthless dictators, however, this time it was fought on two fronts–a Pacific and European theater–where we saw our finest hour, thus far– hence the title of, coined by Tom Brokaw, “The Greatest Generation.”  The heroes of World War II gave this country its true freedom and defined what a country can do when it pulls together as one…  It was not until 1950 that the U.S. was pulled into another conflict and another threat to our “way of life”– Communism, (China and her influence on an unstable North Korea).  Called a police action, the North Korean conflict came to an end a few years later as an armistice was declared and the North and South of the Korean peninsula was split down the 38th parallel.  However, we were not through with Asia, for in 1968 the attention of the world was now focused on Vietnam.  This unholy war, fought through the foggy eyes of politics, was to claim over 58,000 of our young men and women–far to high a price to have paid for a draw.  Simultaneously, we were fighting a “Cold War” with the Soviet Union, now Russia, whose giant stock piles of nuclear weapons, only outmatched by our own, could have blown the world away thousands of times over.  This made for an uncomfortable stretch during one of the greatest Presidents’ tenures, Jack Kennedy, when he blocked the ships coming from the Soviet Union carrying nuclear war heads to the island of Cuba…a move that most assuredly saved the world from nuclear obliteration.  During the seventies, after the Vietnam war came to a sad close, the U.S. saw relative peace, and as Ronald Reagan demanded Russian President Gorbachev to, “tear down this wall”, and he did, the world saw the end to the Cold War stalemate between the two world “Superpowers”.  The Soviet Union fell, along with the Eastern Bloc, by 1988 and as the United States moved into a new era of freedom from fear, peace began to breathe a deep breath once again.  It was not until the year of 2003, when the previous administration, George W. Bush’s reign, made the landmark decision to enter another hot zone with all of its’ military muscle–the Middle East.  Of course, this was argued to be a part of the war in Afghanistan, a small conflict designed to take out the man who was allegedly responsible for the attack on our soil, September 11th, 2001–Osama Bin Laden.  The fact that we never found him, is still a mystery, however, we left our brave men and women their to continue to the new “fight” and war–the “War on Terror”.  This ambiguous and elusive war, no conventional “enemy” to “fight”, left us on unsteady and unfamiliar ground.  As the previous administration geared up to take down yet another dictator, Saddam Husein, the President of Iraq, a sovereign country that offered the U.S. no credible threat, the American people were left in the dark–told lies concerning “weapons of mass destruction” and therefore, brainwashed the imperative to fight them over there, before we have to fight them “over here”…  The manufactured evidence created by the Bush/Cheney crew was forced down the throats of the American people, as we all sat in the dark during a seeming eternity, from the years of 2001 to 2008, some actually believing the lie to be the  TRUTH.  Over 4200 soldiers have lost their lives in Iraq since that war began– seven full years after an infamous banner was displayed on an American aircraft carrier that read, “MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.”  We look now at the veterans returning and see the devastation therein.  Many of these young men and women are emotionally scared.  PTSD, or post traumatic stress disorder, an invisible disease that renders its’ victims paralyzed with an inner fear that keeps them stuck in a constant state of readiness (hyper-alertness), unable to put down their guard, for they are still fighting a war, has now become an epidemic in the United States military.  A war that, for them, ended a long time ago…  What’s more, these brave men and women who come back from both Afghanistan and Iraq are often treated in the same manner that the vets of the Vietnam war were–however, this time it is not hate that they face, rather ambivalence…which is far worse.  Having no direction, many of these men turn to alcohol and drugs to relieve the intense pain, albeit invisible to the naked eye, they feel every twenty four hours of the very long day.  We owe our freedom and our lives to all of these men and women who have fought so bravely under the flag of the blessed stars and stripes.  For it was their bravery on the shores of Normandy to Okinawa, Saigon to Kabul, that we honor them today.  Politics should never enter this sacred day, for even if a war was morally bankrupt, the soldiers who fought and died should be forever remembered for HOW they fought…standing up and taking a bullet for all of the freedoms that we cherish today.  May GODS SPEED be with you on this day, and may  GOD continue to bless the United States of America–“The Land of the Free and Home of the BRAVE.” Peace~ M

May 30, 2010

Figawi!

Filed under: Blog — Michael @ 7:29 am

Greetings and salutations from the sandy shores of Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket!  On a foggy morning here in the little village of Osterville, I bid you a fair adieu.  The official start to the summer kicked off yesterday with the Figawi race from Hyannis to Nantucket.  Figawi is an annual pre-summer sailboat race taking all classes of sail from the mainland of Cape Cod and it’s main hub, Hyannis, 30 miles south, southeast to the far away island of Nantucket.  The event sports a “ball” both on Cape and on Island, with fun had by all.  I was able to get this shot, as seen above, from “Faith Hill” here in Osterville at Dowses Beach, while I was busy with my own boat, “Ti amo”, launching her into her home port on East Bay.  Quite a day on the water, as the winds were whipping up white caps from 7 am to 7 pm, with gusts up to 30 knots… The news on the Gulf however, is not so good.  The methods bp was attempting, at depths of 5000 plus feet, to cap the well that has spewed out upwards of 3 Exxon Valdez disasters thus far, with no end in sight–failed.  I am chomping at the bit to hear what the pundits on the Sunday news shows have to say about the matter.  I’m especially anxious to hear arch conservative George Will speak to the relationship big oil has with big government, not Obama’s administration, but the previous administrations…for that is where the criminality of this catastrophe lies.  The people of the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and perhaps Florida will be impacted the hardest, but moreover, have been duped into believing that these mega-corporate entities care anything about the welfare of every aspect of their lives.  It was reported that when President Obama visited the Gulf region two days ago, with images of men in cleanup suits looking busy cleaning the shores of oil deposits, that those same bp goons, as soon as he departed, left the scene of the crime…presumably picking up their paychecks from the screen actors guild, or SAG–for their performance was worth every nickel.  It is another episode from the “Wizard of Oz” and the man behind the curtain, pulling levers, creating smoke that confuses even the mirrors, and leaves the poor people of the Gulf region crying out, “there’s no place like home, there’s no place like home, there’s no place like home…”  Take a good look around your environment and imagine some unknown faceless, heartless monster (bp) dumping toxic waste into your backyard–a place you were born, went to school, made friends, were married, had kids, made a career and built a Life.  Imagine that, even if for only a moment, and you may catch a glimpse of what is going on with every living soul in the south land.  If the President of the United States is not going to truly stand up for these people, these precious animals, and the equally precious plant life–who the hell is?  I am so sick and tired of being “nice” when speaking of these monsters called corporations, who have the nerve to promote their evil practices with advertisements on television designed to fool even the most ardent of viewers.  The incestuous relationship between said corporations and the Executive, not to mention the Legislative and the Judicial, is why Jefferson, Adams, and Franklin wrote the divinely inspired document called the Constitution of the United States… “protecting us from enemies, both foreign and domestic.” Who else is going to call out these thugs for who, what and where they are?  Do you really believe that CEO’s like Tony, “the tiger”, Hayward (CEO, bp) have any stake in what they do, from a liability standpoint?  They have no stake and no consequences for their actions–save a very hefty paycheck.  They still go home to a 25 million dollar mansion that is not spoiled by their product, eat seafood that is not poisoned by their product, and raise their kids without the GUILT of their product…  They have rigged the system where the upside is the sky and the downside has a liability that will never see the light of day–only the answers they must give their Creator in the next life.  I’m amused at the thought of Tony Hayward explaining to Saint Peter at the Pearly Gates why he believes that based on the amount of money he had amassed on planet earth, he deserves a spot in Heaven–I’m glad I’m not making that decision…  The reality is this–we have no idea what is really going on down there, because it is being kept secret from the public, per the orders of big oil, and a government that seems to be inseparable from big corporate “mission statements”–i.e., he who has the gold, makes the rules. GODS SPEED TO THE GULF–all the people, pelicans and plant life, therein…  Have a blessed Sunday folks!  Peace~ M

May 29, 2010

Lone Bird

Filed under: Blog — Michael @ 6:27 am

Greetings and salutations from the sand, sun and surf of Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket!  The sunrise this morning at Dowses Beach was something to behold, with a purple, gold and reddish glow emanating from our star in our little solar system in a rather mediocre Galaxy called the “Milky Way”…a good start to the Memorial Day week end.  I hope you have a nice one as well, wherever you may be finding yourself this morning… The sludgy mess continues today, unfortunately, off the coast of Louisiana, where we have witnessed grown men in leadership roles in the congress break down and cry over the crime that has been committed towards their lands, their wildlife and their friends and families.  CEO Tony, “The Tiger”, Hayward keeps giving his lame press conferences, and to be quite frank with you, so does President Obama.  I have the sneaking suspicion that not only are we not being told the extent of the damage to the Gulf waters, as bp is not allowing access by independent, credible and honest scientists, but, moreover, the fact that the Executive seems to be getting its “orders” from big oil and not the other way around.  Why would we be upset if you had your boot heal on the throat of bp?  Their disgusting oil “spill” has not only put their boot on the throat of innocent birds, turtles and dolphins that grace our LIFE on planet earth, but fill our souls with something other than the horrible dribble coming from Glenn Beck’s mouth.  His insane attack on the first family literally made me sick to my stomach. His handlers, the likes of Roger Ailes and Rupert Murdoch, can go straight to hell.  Those are men that test the words of Jesus when he says, “Love thine enemies,” for how can one love an animal like that?  I suppose you must ask a power much greater than yourself to forgive them, “for they know not WHAT they do…” Not an easy task.  Moving on, the reality of the supertanker question that would solve the problem, as it has already been proven to work, has not been answered as of this moment in “time”.  The great concern now is the “plume” of oil that is now considered to be 22 miles wide and 6 miles across, and over 3000 feet deep!  Wrap your head around that one.  The other problem is the fact that this oil is invisible to the naked eye, yet highly toxic to micro-organisms and more evolved sea life as well, and thus, will eventually reach the table of man.  I suppose that is not of concern to the very wealthiest among us, for they have the wherewithal to buy their seafood at 5 star restaurants that don’t buy their product from the Gulf.  However, for the millions of people who live and work in and around the Gulf region, it is a far different story.  I am deeply disturbed by our lack of urgency as a people when looking at the forest, for so many are stuck on a particular tree.  Let the independent review begin, for something STINKS IN DENMARK and it is not the fish! Enjoy your Saturday folks and may the GULF receive GODS SPEED, along with all of the animals, plants and people therein.  Peace~ M

May 28, 2010

Pure H20

Filed under: Blog — Michael @ 7:23 am

Greetings and salutations from the sand, sun and surf of Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket! On a spectacular start to the Memorial Day week end here on Cape, with bright sun and temperatures expected in the 70’s, we’ll leave the LIGHT on for you… President Obama gave a press conference yesterday, to which most of it was dedicated to the breakdown in the Gulf.  I say breakdown because that is what it IS–an oil breach that threatens to destroy the entire eco-system of the region, thereby shutting down the economy of Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and perhaps Florida.  It is also a breakdown of leadership and communication, for we know that bp was not going to be forthcoming as to the scope of the disaster, and thus, the Obama administration should have taken control to begin with–employing the Environmental Protection Agency sooner, along with scientists from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute or Scripts Institute, out of La Jolla, California.  We have allowed big business, be it bp or FOX NEWS, to take the reigns of our country for far too long and now that a disaster has struck, we should not allow the slick salesmen among us, who got us into this mess, to try and “get us out”–for that would prove their liability, which is what they were trying to avoid to begin with.  Case in point as to the minimization that began with the talking point offered by Tony Hayward (CEO of bp) when this disaster first struck, (”the effects of this spill will be modest to the wetlands, wildlife and people of the Gulf region), FOX NEWS stated yesterday that, thus far, 30 acres have been effected by the oil.  According to an independent scientist who spent all day yesterday on the oil stained grasses of the Bayou, his estimate is 100 times bigger, at least 3000 acres, thus far, have been effected by the oil “spill” and growing by the minute.  He added that the “plume” of oil, more like a river of thick, black crude that is 20 miles long and 6 miles wide, is what we should be “terrified” of.  Because most oil disasters have been in water of no more than 200 feet, this “spill” offers a unique challenge in so far as WE HAVE NEVER DEALT WITH THIS BEFORE!  HELLO McFly!! The leak that we see on “tv” is actually fairly small and may only be spewing 1000 barrels of oil a day.  However, according to this same scientist, the hunch is that there may be a larger fissure in the fiasco, emitting much greater quantities of oil that neither bp, nor the administration want the general public to know about–lest it might effect bp’s bottom line and send the south into a panic state.  This lake of oil, sitting right off the coast of Mobile, Alabama, is 3000 feet under the surface, and because of the limited access to the spill, as it is surrounded by bp boats and a Coast Guard Admiral, Thad Allen, who seems to really believe in bp and their efforts (?), we are forced to sit and wait for the true disaster to come.  I have mentioned the super tankers in the Arabian Gulf, that can hold 1,000,000., that’s right one million barrels of oil (or any liquid) and have the capacity to suck up water and filter it.  That is exactly what transpired in 1993, when a spill of this magnitude occurred on that same Gulf.  These “super tankers” were deployed like Navy ships, circling the spill like a Zamboni machine, cleaning up more than 90 percent of the spill–90 percent! Obama was asked about the super tankers yesterday and what he told the world was, “he will get back to us on that one”.  At least he is open to something that worked, as opposed to what did not work, a method we are currently employing whereby we, or should I say bp, are utilizing mechanical skimming devices on ships, highly toxic dispersants (the same chemicals were banned in Britain ten years ago, another ironic twist) and controlled relief well drilling.  In 1979, the world’s largest oil spill happened (at the time), in this same Gulf of Mexico.  This well was only drilling in 200 feet of water, however, we used the same methods we are using today–top kill, junk shot, top hat, soft shoe, etc.  None of that worked–and that was in 200 feet of water!  Why would it work now, has something happened to the earth’s gravitational pull?  The reason why events keep repeating themselves in this ongoing saga of mankind’s history as a species, is our inability to learn from our mistakes.  Now, if you are in the p.o.n., you automatically get a free pass, for we all know that YOU don’t make mistakes– for GOD is on your side…  The bp oil “spill” is a direct result of the policies set forth by then President George W. Bush and Dick, “has anyone seen my heart?”, Cheney.  This spill had nothing to do with a very good and honest President named Barack Obama, whose obvious emotion in yesterday’s press conference, via the innocent eyes of his daughter, shined straight on through.  The “Bush” administration (and the good ‘ole boy network that hired them) hijacked many government agencies from the people, including the MMS (mineral “management” services), that propelled a catastrophic environmental disaster like the one we are witnessing RIGHT NOW in the Gulf of Mexico.  The bp deep water horizon mega f#$k $p, was brought to you by the same men who brought you record deficits, an unfunded and illegal war in Iraq, the dismantling of regulation on a “free market” that has shredded the Constitution of the United States and gone quite insane, an ever widening gap between the have’s and the have nots and a complete blind eye to an even bigger problem than the Gulf disaster, GLOBAL WARMING, all caused by the very thing we are drilling for, oil–ironic no?  Will they not rest until the environment is dead and buried?  It seems the one goal of global plutocracy is this–destroying MOTHER EARTH one ton of carbon dioxide at a time.  GOD SPEED TO THE GULF–all of the people, animals and plants, therein… Have a great Memorial Day week end folks!  Peace~ M

May 27, 2010

Dawn at Dowses

Filed under: Blog — Michael @ 7:15 am

Greetings and salutations from the sand, sun and surf of Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket!  On a rather cool morning, compared to the 88 degree Fahrenheit day we had yesterday, it is a COOL CHANGE.  There is nothing like a thunderstorm on the Cape at night, for it brings some electricity to the air–along with some fresh breezes, allowing for comfortable sleeping under the stars of other worlds… The heartbreaking news from the Gulf continues to astonish all of us, as we watch one of the most beautiful places on planet earth be destroyed by the endless task of searching for the world’s most efficient, and most costly, source of energy–oil.  In the days of yore, not too long ago, Nantucket was the whaling capital of the world.  Sperm and Right Whales were hunted mostly because they offered the most oil to light, heat, and cook with.  Our ancestors were in the same predicament that we find ourselves today.  Whaling was outlawed many moons ago for the cruel and vicious practice that it was and still is in Japan, and yet we find ourselves facing a much more daunting challenge today.  For we are fighting ourselves over what should be a no-brainer–stop drilling for oil in U.S. waters! Like a child learns to not touch a hot stove after he burns his hand on it, we should be looking to this disaster as a real wake up call.  We must face the fact that oil is going to begin to run out, predicted by many in the industry, independent  petroleum scientists, geologists, and physicists, between the years of 2012 and 2014…only a few years away.  And yet we designed our entire infrastructure in the United States, from the food that is delivered to our cities, to the cars we rely on to get us back and forth to work, on the continued and escalating use of fossil fuels.  What would happen if the oil suddenly ran out?  Chaos.  This “philosophical” question of energy, the growing world population and the ever increasing need for MORE energy is pushing the envelope to the point where it no longer resembles an envelope.  How can a mega-disaster of this scale not wake up everyone to the fact that we must no longer look at this problem as philosophical, but REAL.  Looking at those Pelicans made me want to cry, all covered in a black ooze as they scream out to us “intelligent” humans for help–not knowing that WE caused this horrific scene, playing itself out in the Gulf right NOW.  The lack of response from the Obama administration is troubling, for it seems that big oil has a stronger grip on the Executive than I thought.  That must be changed.  This country, if it wishes to remain a country, must take a stand against corporate corruption–not to mention stamping out the incestuous relationship regulators have with the industries they are regulating–we’re talking to you mineral management “services” (rendered).  The need for real men and women who give a damn about this country to stand up and fight is long over due.  Although misguided due to a lack of real leadership and true vision, the “tea party” movement has the right idea when it speaks to the enemy.  However, they don’t realize that the enemy, the corporation, is using them, along with “men” like James, “she’ll be comin’ round the mountain when she comes”, Inhofe (R-OK), (who recently shot down the amendment placed before the Senate to increase the liability on an oil spill from 75 million to at least 10 billion), to promote and cultivate their “mission statement” and real goal of world dominance–devoid of free speech, basic human rights and decent living situations without thirst, hunger or brutality. The bought and sold politicians have put this country on the fast track to hell.  Just take a good hard look at the Gulf today, not the fluff you might see on FOX NEWS, but the real stuff on Frontline or National Geographic.  It may be difficult to watch, but it will wake you up to the reality of what is truly going on–physically, mentally, fiscally, and spiritually in a country that we all cherish, Love and live in.  May GOD’s SPEED be with the men and women, turtles and dolphins, of the Gulf region…now and forever. Have a nice Thursday everybody.  Peace~ M

May 26, 2010

Saint Francis of Assisi

Filed under: Blog — Michael @ 9:23 am

Greetings and salutations from the sandy shores of Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket!  I hope you are well and safe wherever you may be finding yourself this Wednesday morning.  The sun is out here on Cape, with temperatures in the upper 70’s today with a cool breeze off Nantucket Sound.  I thought I might call on Saint Francis of Assisi to help all of the poor animals that are being destroyed by the folly of mankind’s greed.  Saint Francis was not always a saint, in fact, he was known as a hell raiser.  But, he transformed into something quite different and his teachings, much like Jesus himself, were centered on kindness to creatures that need our help, for they are defenseless and do not understand why their home is filled with black ooze.  The disaster on the Gulf, the assault of corporate greed upon the people of the United States of America is on.  Make no mistake about it.  These monsters care nothing for you or me.  They are in it to “win it”.  Their definition of winning is not what yours and mine is.  It is much darker and involves a Machiavellian discipline to even get on the playing board.  Mathew Simmons, a former Bush deputy secretary of Energy, told a reporter yesterday that when the oil rig blew, “that this is only going to stop gushing oil when the well is dry.”  He should know, he has written the book on “peak oil” (a theory, supported by most, if not all credible scientists, that the world’s oil supply will begin to decrease between the years of 2012 and 2014.  Thus, beginning a conflict of epic proportions as nations scramble to gain access to an energy source we all “seem” to be dependent upon, as demand goes through the roof) and thus, has access to everything the Obama administration does not.  Mike Papantonio, a personal hero of mine, an attorney who acts on behalf of families suing bp, is someone the Obama administration SHOULD be consulting, as opposed to the closed door society of the corporate milieu.  Perhaps Obama doesn’t get it, but we do.  These “men” of power, are not going to let a President that they don’t even like, call the shots on, and I quote the CEO Tony Hayward, “the modest effects this spill will have on the Gulf, it’s citizens, and it’s wildlife.”  Spoken by a true corporate monster–congratulations Tony, you get the biggest  corporate a^#h≤ of the year award.  Sleep tight big boy!  The most alarming update from this stench in Denmark is the fact that bp, shell oil, conoco, citco, exxon-mobile, etc., were filling out their safety reports in pencil, with the “regulators” from the MMS, tracing the bogus information with a pen, signing it and submitting it–LIES, LIES, LIES! This is where the issues should be taken up, the  criminal issues…and they will be, I ASSURE YOU!  Nostradamus, a famous prophet by many a viewpoint, proclaimed that the “seas will turn red”.  I wonder if this is what he had in mind.  For like many prophets, Nostradamus was forced to write in code, for he lived in an intolerant, unenlightened society, where an iron fist ruled the day.  His words were mixed with metaphors and clues as to the future and what it will look like.  Are we, as a collective human species, stupid enough to allow big egos, i.e. big corporations, to take down our families and friends, not to mention the animals, beaches and forests we love so much?  Or are we going to fight the darker side of the human soul, embrace it with love, for even Jesus himself said, “Love thine enemies.”  Love does conquer all.  God Speed to the Gulf and all of the little animals therein, may Saint Francis be with you always.  Peace~ M

May 25, 2010

Freedom

Filed under: Blog — Michael @ 7:31 am

Greetings and salutations from the sand, sun and surf of Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket!  It is good to be with you on another beautiful start to the day here on our little sand bar in New England.  The days are getting longer and the sun is getting stronger, so you have no excuse not to come on down and visit us here in the seaside village of Osterville–we’ll leave the LIGHT on for you!  The news in the Gulf, however, is not so good.  There is a growing outrage, more intense than the initial reaction to the largest man made disaster in the 234 year history of the United States of America, in the Gulf region as to the government’s response to the crisis.  Granted, the oil industry has the technology to “attempt” to STOP the spill, whereas the Obama administration does not–or so we are told.  We have been told that bp, the corporation ultimately responsible for the dying Pelicans who are soaked in the horrible ooze, will “pay” for all of the damage done by THEIR negligence.  We have been told that bp is doing everything in their power to put a plug in the gusher, a hole in the seabed of the Gulf of Mexico 5000 miles under the surface.  We have been told that the effects to the delicate wet lands would be “modest” by none other than the CEO of bp who would never lie to the American people, right?  There is something rotten in Denmark.  If you get the feeling that someone is hiding something from you, then they probably ARE.  We must go back to the original application for drilling in exploratory depths such as the Deep Horizon well was drilling.  In it, they stated that measures were in place to stop any unforeseen leak.  On the other side of their mouth, I mean application, they state that they HAVE NO EMERGENCY PLAN to stop a catastrophic spill. Meanwhile, the Obama administration, under the shadowy smile of Mary Landrieu (D-LA), who, while talking out of one side of her bought and sold mouth (owned and operated by bp, Shell, Conoco, and Exxon Mobile), speaks to her master’s plan to “pay back” all of the fisherman who have lost their livelihood due to this spill, while on the other side of that two-sided face, she wheels and deals more drilling platforms. All before the original disaster, that is still spewing 100,000 barrels of sweet Louisiana crude into one of our most precious resources–the wetlands of the South, is even plugged.  Something stinks in Denmark alright.  The blurring of democrats and republicans is becoming clear to even the untrained eye, as corporate greed makes no political distinctions.  Money is the king, and these politicians are becoming increasingly transparent to whom they offer their loyalty.  It is certainly not to the fisherman of Louisiana, their families, and the residents of the Gulf whose lives are dependent on the ocean and all of the LIFE therein.  I await Mary’s next news conference with great anticipation, as she may quote Tom Hanks from the epic and classic film, “Forest Gump”.  I can envision a reporter asking Ms. Landrieu, “Senator, when do you think the oil breach will be stopped?”  With her patronizing voice, filled with compassion and a deep love for her constituents, Mary Landrieu replies, “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what your gonna get…”  Feeling frustrated with the ambivalent answer to an urgent question in need of a real answer, the reporter again asks, “is it not true that, fairly recently, Saudi Arabia experienced an 800 million barrel spill and 85 percent of the oil was skimmed out of the sea via a navy of tanker ships, effectively solving the problem?  Could we not fire bp and take over, using every resource available to stop this spill, clean it up, irregardless of the cost?”  Mary, looking flustered, quotes Forest once again, “I gotta pee”…  This is the most glaring example of the “free market”, another word for corrupt corporations– taking everything they can from the American people and leaving them to twist in the wind.  Take any example across the globe, when it comes to “exploring” for black gold.  The oil companies will rape and pillage, leaving the inhabitants, their land and their children polluted and poisoned.  In the early 90’s, Chevron took it’s act down to Ecuador, where they drilled for 10 years, pulled out their equipment, after devastating an ancient rain forest, and left–leaving behind polluted rivers, oozing with thick, black tar-like oil deposits.  The poorest of the poor were then forced to go about their lives on the river that gave them life.  But now it is filled with poison, where, by necessity, they are forced to bathe, drink and watch their children play in the poisonous, filthy, oil slick that used to be a pristine river.  Now it is our back yard and I pray to GOD that someone with power stands up to these MONSTERS and does something about it.  I have no patience for men of power who abuse that privilege.  I was assaulted on Nantucket in 2003 by a corrupt police officer who lied on his police report as to what he did to me, and I can tell you, as I am invited to a deposition in Boston a week from this Friday (as I am suing the town of Nantucket), I know what it feels like to be abused by people who are meant to “protect” you.  In my upcoming book, “Taking Fog to Nantucket” (takingfogtonantucket.com), I touch on many of these issues, such as PTSD, from which I suffer from, and expose the very nature of power and how it has the tendency to become corrupted.  Why would an officer of the law, for example, lie on his police report?  To cover his a$s.  Why would an administration hedge their bets and rely on bp, the wolf who is looking for an in back at the hen house, to actually pull out all of the stops, such as in the Saudi Arabia example, and get this mess cleaned up?  Because it would imply and define their own guilt.  The fact of the matter is this, power has always tried to take the upper hand over the people.  However, that is not what this country was based upon–QUITE THE OPPOSITE!  “You wore green, so you could hide,” Carl Spakler (played by Bill Murray) stated in the classic film, “Caddyshack”, and I truly believe that bp’s green flower-like symbol on their corporate label is the most ironic icon in the world today–for bp represents nothing green and has used that color far to long to hide its miserable mission statement, echoed by crooked corporations across the planet–”PROFIT OVER PEOPLE.”

GOD SPEED TO THE GULF!  Have a nice day folks.  Peace~ M

May 24, 2010

Dutch Export

Filed under: Blog — Michael @ 6:07 am

Greetings and salutations from the sandy shores of Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket!  Hoping you had a nice week end, as the weather here on Cape was spectacular with plenty of sunshine and seasonable temperatures…  Today, after spinning down to Dowses Beach, the fog has taken over the little town of Osterville, with visibilities on the water less than 100 feet.  The “fog” of Washington D.C., a representation of all that needs to be addressed, is getting thicker, and dare I say, “Leon is getting larger”…sorry, I just can’t seem to get away from the “Airplane” analogies.  If there is anyone out there actually reading this blog, for at 5 a.m. on little old Cape Cod, it feels like I’m all alone, I would offer a site that might bring you a smile.  I have yet to check it out, as I don’t want to elevate my blood pressure this early in the morning, but it is called “climatedepot.com”.  My good buddy, James, “she’ll be comin’ round the mountain when she comes”, Inhofe (R-OK), again, famous for his statement back in 2005, “global warming is the greatest hoax ever played on the American people”, popped back up on the radar screen yesterday when it was revealed that he has targeted 17 noted and credible climate scientists for “criminal wrong doing”.  What was their crime?  TELLING THE TRUTH!  Add to that, his henchmen who have taken it to another level, threatening these scientists with death.  This is what this very sick country has come to–threatening credible scientists over telling the truth about what Carbon Dioxide and soon to be Methane gases are doing RIGHT NOW to the delicate balance that keeps us ALL alive with what creative intelligence provided.  It is hard to fathom that Mr. Inhofe is actually part of that creative intelligence, but he is none the less.  Unfortunately, his ego turned his light off long ago and he lives in the darkness of his own making.  I welcome Mr. Inhofe and his henchmen, for it is only a matter of time before the politicians in this country, all bought and sold like so much meat, begin recruiting extreme members of the “tea baggers union”– to TRY and stomp out the truth with violence.  Mr. Inhofe is a coward and a crook.  He has no place in the house that Jefferson, Adams, and Franklin built.  I would challenge the good “Senator” to read a passage from “Common Sense” and see if any of it rubs off.  I doubt it, but like the good folks who are battling a gusher of monumental size in the Gulf, both the oil spill itself and the cover up of bp, every soul deserves saving–even a pompous windbag like James, “I’ll blow your head off if you mention global warming one more time”, Inhofe–the good Senator from the state of Oklahoma.  Good luck with all of your kickbacks and fundamentally flawed attacks on decent scientists who are simply telling the world (that you do not own) WE ARE MELTING!  Have a nice day everybody and GOD SPEED TO THE GULF! Peace~ M

May 23, 2010

Rewrite

Filed under: Blog — Michael @ 6:49 am

Greetings and salutations from the sandy shores of Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket!  Hope all is well with you and yours this morning, wherever you may be finding yourself… High atop “Faith Hill”, one looks out onto “Little East Bay”, with Nantucket Sound off to the South, and may find solace on a lazy Sunday morning.  This morning I sat looking out onto the Sound, catching a glimpse of an Osprey flying low over the sand, not really fishing, but rather seeming to just enjoy being in the moment of the morning… Being Sunday morning, it is the day when some of the nation plays catch up with all that is happening in our very small planet.  Let’s see, we have the oil disaster (although that statement covers a lot of territory), bank “reform”, the rampant racism in Arizona, and oh yeah, the rewrites in the great state of Texas.  On Friday, a group of teachers and law makers met in that state of knowledge to discuss the new curriculum that has been passed into law, requiring teaches to accept fiction into their repertoire of textbooks designed, originally, to inform students of our very rich and DIVERSE past.  However, the good folks in “lala land” decided against TRUTH, in favor of lies promulgated by some whacked out vision of what America was, is and will be.  These right wingnut fundamentalists, who are beginning to act like Muslim extremists, have made it mandatory that children read falsehoods about their own country.  The goal is to brainwash them early and often, so that they will be more apt to join in whatever cult may rear it’s ugly head as the rapture grows ever closer.  Let’s try out the new version of the Texas rewrite shall we?  After all, history is made every day, so why should they have all the fun.  “Bp, the responsible oil company, was recently attacked by the liberal media for an oil spill that was not their fault.  The real fault lies within the socialist agenda of the Obama administration, whose only goal is to take over the United States of America from the good, hard working American folks.  The oil is being cleaned up by bp, the caring environmentally friendly company that it is, and the initial reports of the damage by outside sources has proved to be false.  The oil spill is not as large as has been reported, with no loss of wildlife, fishing sanctuaries or beach damage.  The large oil “plume” that was also reported is also erroneous, as bp has gathered most, if not all, of the oil and considers the case closed.  Any further damage to the coast line is now considered “Obama’s Katrina” and thus, any judgement should be directed towards him and his administration.  That is all for now, may you have a pleasant today and a pleasant tomorrow.”  Love, contributing members of the Texas Rewrite, Inc…  May your day be filled with knowledge, Love and Joy…

Peace~ M

May 22, 2010

Nantucket Bound

Filed under: Blog — Michael @ 7:39 am

Greetings and salutations from the sand, sun and surf of Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket!  Returning from Dowses Beach, here in Osterville, a few minutes ago to witness yet another beautiful sunrise over the Nantucket sound.  A few boats are in at East Bay, I’ll will be launching my 14.2 Capri sailboat in a few days, and it got me “thinking” about our lives, all of our lives, on this little blue rock I call earth.  When you see a boat out on the open water, it reminds one just how small we humans really are.  Floating all “alone” out in a giant sea of seeming emptiness.  If you can picture each person as a glowing light, for that is what they truly are, you may be able to grasp just how much we need each other.  You can see how important and divine each and every living thing IS, how precious LIFE is, how paramount LOVE is…  When I heard on the “t.v.” yesterday that our friends “that are way beyond petroleum” are blocking organizations trained in caring for animals that live in or around the Gulf, barring them from helping bp clean up their own mess, saving as many of the birds, sea turtles, dolphins, otters, and other animal life, (people whose lives are dedicated to the preservation of wilderness itself) I was deeply saddened.  At first, I was very angry at the news that these monsters were only allowing “their” people in, so as to minimize the actual damage (shown to credible news outlets) that this epic catastrophe has already begun to cause.  When you hear even more about the initial lies that were promulgated by the corporation, per the amount of oil being spilled, the toxicity of the “dispersants” that are actually causing MORE damage (Britain banned these chemicals a decade ago), and the fact that it seems the Obama administration has allowed bp to take the reigns on this one, effectively allowing the wolf to go back to the hen house for one more “look”, I get even angrier.  But, then I sit back and watch it unfold, for I know that I am not alone.  There are many who feel as strongly as I do, as to the folly of our continued efforts to mine an energy source that is slowly killing the planet that we all SHARE as one species– along with the millions of other species of animals and plants on a very fragile planet.  Writing here in the darkness of my loft in a small village in the remote region of New England and more specifically a little sand bar known as Cape Cod, I realize that my voice is small compared to the yelling and screaming of say, a FOX NEWS.  But within that “small” voice, lies the truth, and the truth is not small, but an intense Light that we all have within ourselves– and it is a relief when it is set free–for that is what we were meant to be–FREE!  Light always triumphs over darkness.  It is written.  Have a wonderful Saturday everybody!  Peace~ M

May 21, 2010

Little East Bay

Filed under: Blog — Michael @ 7:27 am

Greetings and salutations from the sand, sun and surf of Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket!  Boy, what a day it is already here in Osterville, as I just returned from Dowses Beach and it was a spectacular show of sun splashed blue waters begging you to jump on in…  It has been an interesting week in our nation’s capitol, with so much going on…so many people to buy, so many people to sell–the life of a lobbyist…good times.  When I worked in the high stakes world of employee benefit consulting, and looked at my daily schedule of people I had to see, I sometimes have a small, rather microscopic, amount of empathy for these…..wait a minute, I must be delusional.  For the only reason I would think that to begin with, is simply that some of these lobbyists, lobbying for banks, insurance, oil, coal, nuclear, you name it, must have consciences, and thus, must have some misgivings about their role in being on the wrong side of history.  Anyone with half a brain can see what we are doing to our environment.  What we are doing to our own people via the blind eye towards regulating a banking system that is nothing more than a casino. This system has taken so much of our fellow country men’s savings, that were all wrapped up in some 401 (k) money market account, (that firms like Goldman Sachs used to bank role their bets). Couple that with the ever growing divide in this nation in regard to race, immigration and the have’s and have nots.  Some of these lobbyists will see the light and realize that they were pawns in a much larger game, a game that, if they knew the whole of the truth, would certainly not wish to have played.  The “Euro”, currency in Europe, is in big trouble.  It began with the debt crisis of Greece and has brought about fear in the European markets, with German Chancellor Merkel, calling out the big banks in Europe to come together and tackle the ever growing concern over derivatives that threaten to take down the European economy, according to many noted economists.  Some have said that the most recent financial crisis we suffered through in this country would be like a walk in the park compared to what may come.  For we have in this country alone, over 600 trillion dollars worth of liability out there via credit default swaps or “over the counter derivatives”–600 Trillion dollars!  Wrap your head around that one.  Because the banks in this country amount to 63 percent of the GDP, they have tremendous power over the politicians who are trying to play catch up to this fact.  Couple that with the “status quo” entrenched in the Obama administration, on the financial side, as they were actually part of the problem and steeped in the philosophy of the Bush era.  It seems that we have not fixed anything.  When we have banks that are too big to fail, we have a true “Stockholm Syndrome” going on here.  The American people are held hostage by these mammoth banks, for if there is another banking crisis, and we are close to a melt down of the financial markets, the American tax payer will be the one the politicians turn to for help.  But, therein lies the problem.  We are attempting to get out of this fiscal mess through more debt.  It does not make any sense.  The division that was taken away in 1999, with the repeal of the Glass-Steagal act (original act of 1933, prohibiting traditional banking and investment banking to be housed under the same corporate flag), has “released the hounds”, forcing regular investors, such as a participant in a 401(k) program with their company, out on a very serious limb.  With high volume, high speed trading now the norm, falls in the Dow (like the drop of close to 1000 points a week ago) will be common place, leaving no control for the average investor–who will lose, leaving the spoils to heady traders, hedge fund managers and CEO’s of firms like Goldman Sachs who will reap billions upon billions of dollars all at the expense of the country and its’ citizens.  This is the truth.  “Something is rotten in Denmark”, William Shakespeare stated over 500 years ago and those simple words could not be more true than they are today.  “To thine known self be true”, were also words written by Shakespeare, and when you take the time to think about that one–if done with rigorous honesty–IT WILL SET YOU FREE!  Have a wonderful week end folks!  Peace~ M

May 20, 2010

Waterworks

Filed under: Blog — Michael @ 7:37 am

Greetings and salutations from the sand, sun and surf of Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket!  I hope you are well and safe wherever you may be finding yourself this beautiful Thursday morning.  The weather is going to be fair for the next few days, a good day to take in the way America once was– in Brewster by the ancient mill pond, where man worked in concert with nature to provide him with everything he needed… On the other hand we have our dear friend Mr. James, “Mountain”, Inhofe (R-OK), famous, of course, for his credible statement (if you are a brainwashed member of the “party of no”) that, and I quote, “global warming is the biggest hoax ever played on the American people…”  On Tuesday the shareholders of Transocean, (the owner of the ill fated Deep Horizon well that recently blew up and sank in the Gulf of Mexico, spilling 84,000 barrels of oil into our waters daily), were treated to the news at a stockholders meeting in Zug, Switzerland, that they would be the recipients of 1.0 billion USD in dividends. Terrific timing, do you think you might have waited until you at least plugged the hole in the pipe?  Meanwhile, in Texas, Transocean is busy arguing that their liability should be limited to 27 million dollars in the cleanup effort due to the disaster.  Quoting Rachel Maddow, “I guess they needed more cash to hand out to the shareholders…”  Getting back to James, “she’ll be comin’ round the mountain when she comes”, Inhofe, who stated, “passing legislation to increase the mandatory cleanup liability expressed by congress from 75 million to 10 billion (a conservative figure) would, (this statement is right out of an Austin Powers movie) “be exactly what the oil companies want…”  Yes, James, I can see you have been brushing up on your vintage comedy classics such as the movie, “Airplane”, and memorizing the lines from the late, great actor Lloyd Bridges who in tandem with another great actor in that 1979 cinematic piece of genius, showed just how effective stupidity truly is.  In the film, Bridges asks “Rex Reed”, a venerated pilot who is trying to  ease the crippled aircraft down to the ground, thus avoiding a crash landing– “should we turn on the runway lights?”  “No,” answers his friend in the control tower, “that’s just what they’ll expect us to do…” Inhofe actually said, “Big oil would love to have those big cops out there, as they can shut out independents” (”mom and pop” oil drilling for everybody!).  Your words Senator, one question however, “do you really expect us to believe that you are not in bed with big oil?”  A criminal investigation is now ongoing with 10 tough democratic Senators going after the actual application for drilling prior to this catastrophe.  In it, it states that, “in case of a spill, we can handle it…”  Further, the application then does a P.O.N. doublespeak and reverses itself, effectively contradicting itself, and admits that it would, “have no idea how to clean up a giant oil spill.”  In other words, bp made false statements on the application to begin with.  The cozy relationship between the mineral management services (MMS) currently responsible for both the permits and safety (inherent conflict of interest) and the regulators “overseeing” the oil executives (as they sleep together and have cocaine for breakfast) must be stopped–the agency should have been two separate entities to begin with.  Were they, then this disaster never happened.  Barbara Boxer (D-CA) stated yesterday that 300,000 jobs will be effected by the spill, and that has nothing to do with the oil industry.  An area the size of Pennsylvania is off limits to fishing at the present moment.  Thanks big oil, thanks bp, thanks MMS!  Tony Hayward, the CEO of bp, made the statement right after the spill, “from everything that we can see, the spill and the impact to the environment will be modest, very, very modest…”  Thank you Tony for that big fat lie to go with my oil soaked shrimp sandwich, may I have another, please?  You and your company have destroyed more life than you will ever know.  Thank you again.  And thanks all around to all of the crooked CEO’s out there who dump metaphorical oil onto the American people daily.  For these very same people are the backbone of the country you enjoy so much and it is because of them that there is a “you” to begin with.  God Speed to the Gulf and the many defenseless animals and birds, people and sea grass that get in the way of “progress” all in the name of the almighty dollar!  Peace~ M

May 19, 2010

Board Meeting

Filed under: Blog — Michael @ 7:41 am

Greetings from the sand, sun and surf of Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket!  The rains have arrived in force this mornings, as I just returned from Dowses Beach, seen above on a clearer day, with powerful waves bringing seaweed and kelp up to the sandy texture of this most blessed beach…  Every time I look at Dowses Beach now, in light of the tragedy that occurred down in the Gulf region recently, I am ever thankful.  My deepest sympathy goes out to the citizens of this country who will endure man kind at his worst.  I say worst, for the explosion and “accident” itself was bad enough, but the subsequent politics as usual is a little tough to take.  First, congress is leaning away from raising the liability and hence, cost of cleaning up their mess– from 75 million to a more responsible number, 10 billion.  Second, oil wells that are still deemed by most experts and environmentalists to be unsafe and untested in such deep water as the Deep Horizon well once stood, are still operational– posing like a time bomb that could go off at any minute.  Third, the fact that financial experts have determined that all of this domestic oil drilling for the three percent of the world’s oil supply (while we use 25 percent of it) will only reduce the price of oil by three cents by the year 2030!  THREE CENTS!  Is this risk worth the price of admission?  Who is making these decisions? To the big oil executives, that is not even a consideration.  These are not men, these are rats.  Fourth, the actual admission from bp stating that this disaster was indeed, their fault, is missing in action–hidden beneath the corporate mission statements, fine print and implicit greed that has taken over the world via the global corporate agenda.  The huge plume of oil that is 10 miles long (and growing) and over three miles wide, deep within the body of the Gulf itself has rung the alarm bell for many scientists who have determined this spill could spell monumental environmental implications for centuries to come…  We don’t like to think about “centuries to come”, for it is tough enough to live on this insane planet as it is right now.  How can a soul full person, complete with a conscience, sit back and let this happen to a planet that is so beautiful, so natural and so much a part of every fiber of every human being alive today?  But, forge ahead we must, and so we look into the future and discover that even fifty years from today, we will, if something of biblical scale does not turn the tide in the ways of the sane, witness such drastic climate change that it is not clear if the human race can survive, at least the way we are right now…as the seas will have overtaken New York City, Tokyo and much of Florida.  The Polar Ice Caps, along with every living Glacier will be gone.  Much of what we know now in the animal kingdom will have passed into infinity forever, and we will be left with a world filled with problems all of our own making…and for what?  So that we can keep the insane way of life intact for the very few who have all of the money and to hell with the rest?  (that IS our current “system” in the United States of America).  God created the poorest of the poor, just as he created the richest of the rich.  Who do you think HE will BE WITH in the end?  “God does not play dice with the UNIVERSE…”, Einstein stated many moons ago, and he was right. The line between science and the real world of spirit, creative intelligence or GOD, is beginning to blur.  There have been many breakthroughs recently in quantum physics, indicating that something big is about to happen.  For if the Mayans were right, the day of December 21, 2012 will be one to remember, for it is on that day, the earth will be at the exact center of the Milky Way Galaxy and it is unclear what that may mean to us tiny human beings on a tiny planet in a tiny Galaxy far, far away from any sense of direction at this moment in “time”…  Have a nice day folks!  Peace~ M

May 18, 2010

Green Green Grass

Filed under: Blog — Michael @ 7:01 am

Greetings and salutations from the sand, sun and surf of Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket!  I pray the weather is with you today, as we are expecting showers a little later on this afternoon, with steadier rain for tonight and tomorrow… The sad news from the Gulf continues at this hour, as researches who are independent of the honest oil companies begin the task of learning the truth of what really happened aboard the deep horizon well that exploded 50 miles off the coast of Louisiana a little over a month ago.  The severed pipe that is spewing over 84,000 barrels of crude into the pristine waters as I write this commentary, has yet to be contained and the fingers continue to point in every direction except their own.  Meanwhile, an oil plume has been discovered by scientists who claim it is three miles wide and ten miles long, very deep and impossible to get a foot hold on, for it is too deep for any of the “rescue” boats to do any real cleanup based on the magnitude of oil that is now present in the water.  To put some perspective on this, we must look to the past and future simultaneously.  The Exxon Valdez was a ship that ran aground spilling 400,000 barrels into Prince William Sound in Alaska–oil that was contained in a finite space.  We now know that this spill is the equivalent of one Exxon Valdez every four days, with an unknown amount of oil still left in the well that was tapped in over 5000 feet of water, and experiment of sorts for the oil industry.  This is clear, as one of deep horizon’s sister ships, “The Atlantis” (ironic, no?), 100 miles further out and in water 2000 feet deeper, has reported similar problems with the annular, or gasket, that fits into the blow out preventer on the drill, coupled with the removal of “mud” that expedites the process of drilling (then allowing for another rig to come in and start the process of extracting the oil from the sea floor), not to mention faulty cement work by Halliburton.  The problem with all of this is, in a word, safety.  A word that is thrown around like so many others and only taken seriously when a disaster of this magnitude occurs.  Is is not enough for these villains to take our oil, not pay royalties, endanger our citizens, not pay taxes, get lucky with the regulatory agency members interested in cocaine and sex, make billions of dollars annually in profits, and then sell it on the open market–all the while, telling the “American public” via crooked politicians that we must drill for oil to “keep our independence from foreign oil”…IS THAT NOT ENOUGH?  On the contrary, it is not enough.  We, at bp, remind the public, and I quote an episode from SNL circa 1975…a little skit they called “Point-counter-Point”… that goes something like this….. “Shana, they bought their tickets, they knew what they were getting into…I say let ‘em crash.”  That, my friends, is the official position of every global corporate entity out there, especially the industries of banking, oil, insurance, coal, pharmaceuticals, well, you get the picture.  These monsters pay nothing in taxes, the big shots who own said companies have no personal liability, own the politicians and, more to the point, the regulators, who might, for political reasons, give bp a slap on the wrist via a hefty fine, but rest assured, that fine will not even take a drop out of the profit model that has now been exposed for WHAT IT IS!  Stand up and fight for your fellow Americans!  Mitch, “the mouse”, McConnell is certainly not going to–for if he did, he might not receive his favorite mouse treat from his ever hungry handlers… Have a blessed day everybody!  Peace~ M

May 17, 2010

Blue and Green

Filed under: Blog — Michael @ 7:02 am

Greetings and salutations from the sand, sun and surf of Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket!  I hope you are well, warm and safe wherever you may be finding yourself this Monday morning.  It was an interesting week end, with all the buzz centering on the disaster in the Gulf, and what a disaster it truly is.  “60 Minutes” aired last night and the topic was a man who survived the explosion on the “Deep Horizon” rig and his jaw dropping story about what really happened.  The interview was superb, as Scott Pelley listened to the man, who was basically in charge of the electrical operations on the floating drill, speak to the horror that transpired roughly a month ago.  According to his testimony, he became concerned about the gasket (a critical part of the “blow out preventer”) when it started coming apart and huge chunks of rubber began appearing.  When he reported this to the “powers that be” that start with the letter “b” and end in “p”, they effectively told him that it was perfectly normal.  So too, was the fact that one of the “pods” (that are backups to this critical component of an oil rig) simply did not work.  Couple all of that with a meeting that took place only days before the explosion, where officials from Transocean (the owner of the rig) and officers from bp had a “discussion” about who was “in charge”.  The argument ended with bp winning that argument and thus, the order to speed up the drilling despite the danger ensued, and we all know what happened after that fact.  The night of the explosion, the man was sitting in his office when he heard the engines, the generators, “going crazy” and then he heard a loud BOOM.  The whole of the rig began to shake with massive explosions everywhere and facing certain death on the rig, the man jumped 100 feet from the flaming platform– into the dark abyss, the cold Gulf waters.  When he came up for air, he stated that he thought he was on fire, for as he looked around, the water was filled with oil, diesel fuel and debris and he was sure he would be burned alive as the oil that was currently on fire would consume him as well.  He swam and swam and eventually he did not feel anything, he did not hear anything, nor did he see anything.  He thought he was dead, and at that moment he heard someone shouting, “over here, over here, over here!”  He was pulled out of the water by some fisherman who had taken the first images of the burning rig and lived to tell his story to the world on “60 Minutes”…  As I digested that information last night, I referred back to my notes taken during “Meet the Press” earlier that morning, where my good buddy, Mitch, “the mouse”, McConnell (R-KY) was spinning his lies to the American public, a position he feels quite comfortable with.  I was amazed at his recent rhetoric, as he clearly stated that the Obama administration was partially to blame for the disaster.  According to Mitch’s well rehearsed “talking points”, Obama should have been regulating the industry better and should have taken steps to regulate the MMS (mineral management services).  To back this up and give it some perspective, let us look at this “agency”.  The Bush administration (made up of oil executives) created this monster in the 00’s, and it is well known that IT WAS A JOKE! The regulators were doing cocaine and sleeping with the oil executives, all in the open, all on the tax payers nickel.  This incestuous relationship, not to mention the complete “conflict of interest” which has become a cliche in Washington D.C., between regulator and industry, has cost the fisherman, the wildlife and the American people more than bp can ever repay.  Yes, Mitch, let us listen to your wise words.  For Obama could have broken this most corrupt of all the federal agencies, (with all of his “free” time), yes, broken the MMS into two distinct agencies, had federal oversight on the rig itself and prevented the disaster from the beginning…Mitch, you are a clown of the highest order and you do not deserve to be called a Senator any longer.  I’m sure that if Obama were to have made this his number one priority, his proposal to truly regulate this industry that is beyond corruption would have sailed right through the House and Senate, for Mitch’s party is not one of “NO”, but one of common sense and bipartisan support, for, in Mitch’s words, “the American people demand no less”.  Mitch McConnell’s double speak is the weapon the P.O.N. uses to muddy people’s minds as to who is the real enemy and who is not.  Big oil cares nothing for the common man, and it IS the enemy!!! It is like any other corporation, it is only interested in the bottom line and to hell with the consequences–be them man, beast or the very home we all live in presently–PLANET EARTH!  Why is there such a fear of these monsters?  Why?  Because money buys power, allegiance and slavery to the demands of a centralized way of thinking–mindlessness via the almighty corporation that is faceless, but yet has a face–the face of Mitch McConnell.  A small round face, with beady eyes and a vicious agenda, who would sell your grandmother to the highest bidder if it were on the corporate charter and “mission statement”.  These are men of cowardice, as they hide behind the corporate curtain of deceit and diabolical direction.  They are not really men, but puppets who have no place in the House that Jefferson, Adams, Washington, Hamilton, and Franklin built.  Call them out on what and who they truly are!  Cowards of the highest order!  God speed residents and victims of bp, the republican party and corporations everywhere, GOD SPEED!  Have a nice day everybody!  Peace~ M

May 16, 2010

Sea Chapel

Filed under: Blog — Michael @ 8:54 am

Greetings and salutations from the sandy shores of Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket!  I woke up a little later this morning, and opposed to going down to Dowses Beach, I simply rolled out of bed and sipped some coffee on my deck here in Osterville.  Something about a lazy Sunday morning on Cape Cod, where the sun is shining, the birds are calling out to their lovers and the cats and dogs that share my home, mill about peacefully, with purpose driven furry footprints that give us all a compass on how to truly live our lives in the present…  With the largest man made disaster in the recorded history of the United States of America ongoing at this moment in “time”, I thought I might offer a prayer of sorts in the way of another submission by Mary Oliver, a noted poet here on Cape.  Her simple words offer solace in an insane world of chaos and catastrophe, be it in our national psyche of racial intolerance in the great state of Arizona, the ongoing battle of the control of power via the broken banking “system”, the folly of harvesting fossil fuel when we know that black gold is slowly, ever increasingly, melting our planet, the desperation that exists in every town, village and city as policy towards the have nots becomes increasingly evident to the Ostriches who have kept their heads in the sand for so long, and the wars, yes, the wars that are nothing more than a manifestation of all of the above–fortifying what President Eisenhower warned us of, the “military industrial complex”, designed to perpetuate war, as they are now designed to keep the “business” of that endeavor alive and well, regardless of the consequences to our young men an women, not to mention the millions of innocent lives lost to the insanity of military conflict.  These are monumental problems facing mankind at this very moment, and as we wait for an act of Providence to show us out of the cave that we created, let us take pause to reflect on the POWER of LOVE, and its properties of transformation and transcendence to the place where we all belong–for it will be revealed that we are all truly one, NOW and forever more–as it was written and thus, shall ever be.    Enjoy your Sunday everybody and may the Grace of God be with you all…

Bone

by, Mary Oliver

1.

Understand, I am always trying to figure out

what the soul is,

and where it is hidden,

and what shape–

and so, last week,

when I found on the beach

the ear bone

of a pilot whale that may have died

hundreds of years ago, I thought

maybe I was close

to discovering something–

for the ear bone

2.

is the portion that lasts longest

in any of us, man or whale; shaped

like a squat spoon

with a pink scoop where

once, in the lively swimmer’s head,

it joined its two sisters

in the house of hearing,

it was only

two inches long–

and I thought:  the soul

might be like this–

so hard, so necessary–

3.

yet almost nothing.

Beside me

the gray sea

was opening and shutting its wave-doors,

unfolding over and over

its time-ridiculing roar;

I looked but I couldn’t see anything

through its dark-knit glare;

yet don’t we all know, the golden sand

is there at the bottom ,

though our eyes have never seen it,

nor can our hands ever catch it

4.

lest we would sift it down

into fractions, and facts–

certainties–

and what the soul is, also

I believe I will never quite know.

Though I play at the edges of knowing,

truly I know

our part is not knowing,

but looking, and touching, and loving,

which is the way I walked on,

softly,

through the pale-pink morning light.

Peace~M

May 15, 2010

Osterville’s Dawn

Filed under: Blog — Michael @ 7:04 am

Greetings and salutations from the sand, sun and surf of Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket!  On a glorious start to the week end, with a sunrise akin to the one seen above here at Dowses Beach, I bid you and yours a fair adieu.  The oil spill that has reached epic proportions has now, as of yesterday, been confirmed to be much worse than previously “reported” by British Petroleum.  Three separate scientists reported on National Public Radio that the oil is not leaking at 1000 barrels per day as it was first stated by bp, then bumped to the generally accepted notion of 5000 barrels per day.  No, the leak according to these truly credible people maintain that it is 10 times that amount, meaning that the leak is producing 84,000 barrels daily, gushing into the fragile waters of the Gulf.  That means that every five days, the New Horizons disaster is letting go of more oil than the Exxon Valdez disaster, twenty years ago at Prince William Sound in Alaska.  It has been 26 days, so if those calculations are correct, and the scientists who provided us with that information have no reason to lie unlike our friends at bp, Transocean and Halliburton, it would indicate that, so far, this man made f$%k up has created a spill that now equals at least five Exxon Valdez ships running a ground.  Moreover, the cozy relationship that existed between oil executives and the MMS, (the government “regulatory agency” in charge of watching these environmental criminals), is now up for serious debate and raising all kinds of interesting questions.  In response to these queries, like the response to, “is this going to be fixed?”, is now infamously coined in three little words…”I don’t know.”  MMS and the various oil executives and their colleagues have literally been in bed with each other, with cocaine use and wild parties being brought back into the light, (as they were previously reported), but now seem to be of much more prominence to the question of “why did it happen?” in the NOW of today.  So oversight was a joke and because of this complete lack of respect for something as monumental as the safety regulations for these floating platforms, a quarter of America’s wet lands stand in the balance, with millions of people, animals and plants being affected for decades to come.  Stop drilling for oil off of our shores! “Crimes against nature”, was the headliner in Keith Olberman’s “Countdown” last night, as Keith had, as his guest, Will Carter, the former environmental crimes prosecutor.  His big question, “was this an accident?”  BP has been accused and fined for violations in the past, criminal environmental crimes, and the questions are beginning to mount against these men whose affiliations are perhaps beyond prosecution, as Transocean is based in the landlocked country of Switzerland and the rig was “inspected” where it “hails” from–the Marshall Islands in the south Pacific, somewhere off of Australia.  Big business, global commerce, tax shelters, all at the expense of our own citizens, wildlife and pristine coastline…Thank you George W. Bush, “Dick” Cheney and all the politicians who are literally, figuratively and morally in bed with the evil that is black gold… Texas tea–rest assured however, there will be a reckoning.  Have a nice Saturday everybody and say a prayer for the good people and all of the animals and plant life in the Gulf!  Peace~ M

May 14, 2010

Jonathon Livingston

Filed under: Blog — Michael @ 6:45 am

Greetings and salutations from the sandy shores of Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket!  Some sporadic showers are expected on the Cape today, with temperatures in the 60’s…not bad for this time of year– come on down and visit!  Of course, the big news continues to be the bp disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, where it is estimated that 4 million gallons of crude oil has been spilled, with the ecological consequences yet to be felt in the region.  The bird you see above you, who looks like the seagull from the famous novel, “Jonathon Livingston Seagull”, is safe from the oil that mankind has so irresponsibly dumped into his brother’s home.  Man has become oblivious to his own grandiosity (another name for the ego) and thus, cares nothing for the FACT that we are as connected to this bird as we are to any GOD we can create out of our collective, limited split human consciousness.  It is within the confines of nature itself that we find our true meaning and purpose in this LIFE.  When we destroy nature, we destroy life and ultimately, ourselves.  We look around at our world, as it is torn from limb to limb, and wonder why we are not happy, why we feel so alone, why we don’t see the harmony that brings us to the place of comfort– leading to the JOY, LOVE and PEACE that is within each and every one of us…  Moreover, we feel as though there is no solution, no way to combat these thieves who rely upon the GOD they made to keep us all in fear– thus, maintaining the “status quo” of who is right, who is wrong, who is a have and who is a have not.  As I have said before, the battle lines are being drawn, with states like Arizona who have sunk to a new low.  They unveiled another “law” in that God forbidden state (save Sedona) under the watchful eye of the “paid for Governor”, whose name does not deserve a mentioning, whereby it is now illegal to OFFER courses in schools that cover the historical context of Hispanic studies, Asian studies, or the study of any group that is not of the Lilly white variety.  This is no joke.  Arizona, like Texas before it, is attempting to rewrite history, or even worse, pretending like it did not exist.  So, not only is it illegal to walk around Phoenix without your “papers”, but if you plan on raising a family, do not expect your child to learn anything about the multi-national culture that the United States IS.  What a slap in the face.  It would be akin to signing a law that prohibits white people from learning about the history of the Revolutionary War, the subsequent signing of the Bill of Rights and the Constitution of the United States itself… When did we enter the twilight zone? If someone were to have told you twenty years ago that the state of Arizona would pass a law demanding that anyone who looks suspicious must produce their “papers” that prove they are an American citizen, make it illegal for a school to promote and teach the multi-national reality of this nation and run adds on television with a man who is on the edge of a nervous breakdown speaking with a “sheriff” (whose jurisdiction is 100 miles away from the border) where John McCain tells him, “yeah, and fix the dang fence,” as the staged sheriff states, “your one of us, John…”, you would probably have asked to see my papers of proving I was sane… Yet it is, and yes I am.  The insanity that is rampant in this country– fueled by the corporate plutocracy, run on fear, hate and cynicism– can be stopped.  That is the good news.  The first step is to recognize IT.  The collective ego is like a disease, for it IS dis-ease.  That’s the whole point.  Keep the masses in check by giving them next to nothing to live on, promote lies that create paranoia and fear, thereby, bringing on the hate and violence that the P.O.N. and their corporate masters are counting on.  Bring us your hungry, huddled masses gives way to “bring us more guns, more money and more lawyers.”  The world must look upon us, and they do from my experience, as giant, delinquent teenagers who never out grew the pains of junior high school and thus, maintained the “bully mentality” all in the name of Jesus himself…  Can you not see the insanity?  Clearer souls will prevail.  Souls that are not cluttered with the sins of their fathers and have the Holy Spirit with them at all times.  Be not afraid of the evil, for it knows no Light and fears THAT most of all.  Have a wonderful week end folks!  Peace~ M

May 13, 2010

Chatham Reverance

Filed under: Blog — Michael @ 7:21 am

Greetings and salutations from the sand, sun and surf of Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket!  On a beautiful morning here on Cape, I hope you are well wherever this message may be reaching you… I thought I might add a positive image to today’s blog.  The water above you comes from the shores of Chatham, one of my favorite towns on the Cape.  With sandy shoulders stretching for miles into the Atlantic, the dreamy atmosphere brings about a peaceful notion of the world as it truly is–a place of beauty and grandeur that no effort of man could ever bring down.  The troubles in the Gulf, however, bring this theory into question.  The outstanding work of bp, in the effort to dodge responsibility for the explosion of it’s own rig (with help from it’s partners in crime, Transocean and Halliburton), is now pretty clear to anyone with a brain.  Do these members of congress really believe that their vested interests in whatever corporate agenda they are peddling today can be kept from the sharp mind of the Truth?  Ah, the game of corporate Americana.  Keep ‘em guessing long enough and they will lose interest.  Yesterday, an image of several dolphins who died in vain after ingesting the dirty oil from these gangsters brought my blood to a boil and I cannot help but be truly outraged at not only the spill itself, but the lack of ownership in the responsibility department.  It takes true Gaul to pass blame onto someone else for your own mishap that will effect so many living things.  These “men” should be put behind bars and forced to pay their debt to society by taking off their $5000 dollar suits, putting on some hip waders and getting to work scrubbing birds, otters and even the occasional whale.  We call ourselves a nation that stands up for what is right… I cannot think of anything more WRONG than a company like bp drilling for an outdated form of energy off of our shores (placing the oil on an international market to be awarded to the highest bidder), all while knowing that the United States territory has three percent of the world’s oil– while we consume twenty five percent!  The numbers don’t add up.  We should be taking this disaster and using it to promote what we should have been doing since the last energy crisis in the 1970’s–moving away from fossil fuels that are destroying planet earth and into the renewable sources–wind, solar, geo-thermal.  We need a complete overhaul of our infrastructure and moreover, we need the courage to say to these multi-national corporations that use our waters and lands as their own gold mine, (leaving the messes to the poor souls who live, work and die here to clean up and pay for the scars these “men” of power are leaving on the tired landscape of America) to, as John Stewart (host of the Daily Show) states so eloquently, “go f$%k yourselves!”  No more rolling over for the a faceless shark that feeds incessantly off of land that does not belong to them.  In fact, land that “belongs” to no one.  The original stewards of this country, the true “American citizens”, the native American Indians, had no concept of fences and borders.  They believed that they belonged to the land, not the other way around.  There was a balance and meaning in their lives, that we have no clue about.  It is no wonder we, collectively as a nation of “laws”, have more heart attacks, ulcers, strokes, etc., for we have truly lost our way.  We don’t look upon nature with the eyes of a child, filled with awe and REVERANCE.  We have become the God and left our creator in the dust bin of “time” as we scurry about our day, with no point of reference or clearly defined goal–save to gain as much as we can through acts of violence waged in wars that feed the ever hungry shark of a capitalistic system that is clearly out of whack with the true reality of our fate on planet earth.  Recently, a good friend of mine took a trip to Greenland, whereupon he came upon a small Inuit village, where he stumbled upon the face of an ancient man who looked like he was from “another world”.  His eyes were filled with tears as he silently looked upon the glacier that he knew since the day he could remember.  The grand glacier was melting and was no more than a shadow of its former self.  There was nothing my friend could say to the Indian chief, a man, he could tell, was a man of great stature and grace.  As he walked away, it seemed that the soul of that glacier went with him… So it is with all of us, if we look hard enough– for we are all one, whether you believe this to be true or not, it is fact.  So pick up a phone, write a letter, make some noise–because it is your world just as much as it is the dirty politicians, the dirtier corporations and the dirtiest of evil men’s intentions… Have a wonderful Thursday everybody!  Peace~ M

May 12, 2010

Docile Dock

Filed under: Blog — Michael @ 6:50 am

Greetings and salutations from the sand, sun and surf of Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket!  On a cloudy morning here in Osterville, I hope the metaphorical as well as physical sun is shining in your general direction…  As you can see from the image above, East Bay here in Osterville is calm and free of any oil, and I thank God for that fact.  When you live next to the ocean, you develop a keener sense of just how important it truly is to ALL of us.  The thousands of species that depend upon it daily, not to mention the human variety, will be forever harmed by the egregious acts of the cowards called bp.  When it is abused and used as a garbage dump, everyone suffers.  Not, apparently, the good folks at that fine oil monstrosity, Transocean and some other schmuck corporate organization who went in front of the Senate oversight committee (a pawn for the very industry that they are “reprimanding”) yesterday in Washington D.C..  The blame game was on in full force, as one side of the mouth accused the other’s other side of the mouth that they, in “fact”, were to blame for the catastrophe.  To really rub salt in the wound, we had the great Senator Mary, “I don’t sleep with oil company executives on the first date”, Landrieu (D-LA) who held a press conference yesterday declaring (as the bp spokesperson) that the company will do everything in it’s power to clean up the mess, but “we will continue to drill for oil, as this “industry” (a dirty 19th century industry that only rewards the insiders) employs “millions” of workers and is vital for our national economy”…  Mary Landrieu is a shill for shell.  Her rhetoric has raised the truth about these “politicians” and their real role as puppets who do, say, and think as the “company” commands.  It is that simple.  The Senate meeting that was held yesterday represented everything that is WRONG with Washington, as this was a great opportunity to have a national forum on the true nature of fossil fuels.  We have become so short sighted in this nation, only interested in short term profits and minimizing the importance of anyone making under 5 million dollars a year.  In fact, I would hazard a guess that these bp executives who showed up to take a “spanking” from the very people they PAY to spread lies, create laws designed to help the oil industry and ultimately fuel their never ending thirst for the almighty dollar, had quite a laugh as they strolled back to the Four Seasons hotel for an early dinner with plenty of drinks–to hell with the state of Louisiana and all of it’s rich wet lands, fish, birds, otters and whales.  The oil industry is a dirty, nasty, horrible example of what a human being should not aspire to be.  Dick Cheney knows this all to well, as he looks into the vacuum of his soul and discovers that the wars that he caused overseas, the pain that he has caused this country and world in general, will come back and bite him in the @$%.  I guarantee it…  Have a nice day everybody and pray for the good folks in the Gulf region, may something good come from this fiasco…  Peace~ M

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