Cape Karen
Well, I, for one, am glad to see 2005 drawing to a close. It has been an amazing year full of weather 'firsts' that we could have done without; just a year ago, the first tsunami of such magnitude in our recorded history exploded in the Indian Ocean; late last fall, we saw the first hurricane in recorded history to grow from a category 2 to category 5 in a matter of hours, taking even the experts by surprise; and then, with Katrina, we saw the first surreal damage that could be done by a category 4 hurricane in MS and LA ~ leaving many of the surviving residents of those areas homeless, displaced and jobless.
Whew! It's been an exhausting, emotional year.
And, although the number will change to 2006, I don't think we've seen the last of the firsts.
Scientists around the world, from all the various scientific disciplines, are predicting that another earthquake, with a resulting massive tsunami, is "imminent" off the coasts of WA, OR and northern CA. The Cascadia faultline, running 500 miles long, is located very close to the coastline, unlike the faultline in the Indian Ocean that was located hundreds of miles out to sea. 
This time, there will only be a 10-15-minute warning time before the earthquake-driven tsunami engulfs the WA, OR and CA shoreline communities. It is projected to come in at 500 mph, with waves that could amplitude up to 90 feet tall as they slow down and heighten when hitting the shallows. During the preceding earthquake, large buildings will collapse, the roadways and bridges will swell, buckle and break, and there will be no way for folks to run to safety. Even if they did have more warning time, their current evacuation routes are located much too close to the sea for protection against such a catastrophic event, and driving out of danger will have been rendered impossible.
There was a time, not long ago, when we could afford to be skeptical, and to scoff at such dire predictions ~ but, not anymore! How many years did the people in New Orleans know that if a large hurricane were to hit them, it would be totally disasterous? And still, no good evacuation plans were in place, or had ever been practiced, for the displaced, the sick, the elderly and those without transportation. Even with days of warning, they remained unprepared ~ and, I won't even get into the non-response efforts of FEMA, that left us all shaken by their show of gross incompetence.
Over the last few years, when urged for government help, President Bush, et al, refused to allocate the projected $13 billion needed to upgrade the New Orlean's inadequate levee system. Now, it will cost U.S. taxpayers $200 - $300 billion to repair the damage that was done, because he refused to spend the money to prevent it. Now, they have to completely redesign and rebuild the levees, repair all the damaged oil rigs, and try to reclaim and restore the entire Gulf Coast to a viable, productive status. And, nothing can ever repair the damage done to the thousands of lives that were forever changed by that long-predicted event.
With some foresight, and a willingness to plan ahead, much of what happened could have been prevented. . . and that's a really sad truth. . . as we look back today with 20-20 hindsight.
Who was it that said, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure?"
Whoever it was, perhaps it's high time to start taking that advice to heart; it's time to look to the future with an eye to prevention on many fronts; from the environment and global warming, to warnings of future storms and other possible catastrophic events. I think we'd better start listening to the scientist's, and others 'in the know,' and at least try to prepare for whatever is predicted to come our way. Otherwise, after all is said and done, we'll have learned absolutely nothing this year.
And that would be the biggest catastrophe of them all.
So, here's to a calm and peaceful New Year ~ one in which we do not become complacent, but stay alert in the midst of temporary quiet. Here's to a New Year in which our elected leaders will hear our 'call to disarm' and get our soldiers out of harms way in the forever-turbulent Mideast. Here's to a New Year where our government leaders will start listening to, and caring for, Americans and America. Here's to a year where, instead of legislating and passing bills, designed to line their already bulging pockets with more big-oil money, those on Capitol Hill will start caring more about the quality of life ~ for all of us.
And most of all, here's to a New Year full of our increased involvement in matters that really matter; let's make 2006 a year of foresight, wisdom, and integrity ~ a year of the people, by the people and for the people ~ by letting our voices be heard in Washington, D.C.
With e-mail available to us, there's really no excuse not to let your concerns be known to your state senators ~ Senate majority leader, Bill Frist (R-TN) and I are now on a first-name basis. I'm saving all his 'thank you for your concern' letters, and I'll mail them back to him in his jail cell, someday. (He's currently under Senate investigation for doing ~ $omething Fi$hy.)
Remember. . . all it takes for evil to succeed is for good people to remain silent. . .
. . .Have a Happy New Year!
It's Christmas Eve and here in the valley, below the Great Smoky Mountains, all is quiet, all is bright. Our town puts up Christmas lights, in the multi-millions, for the tourists to come and enjoy during what they call "Winterfest." Our electric bill doubles the minute the lights are turned on in November, and stays real high until they are turned off, finally, in April.
Regardless of how warm it might be, or how hard we try to keep our electric bills low, we always pay more because of these * #*+# lights. Of course, when asked, the electric company swears we aren't being 'surcharged' for them ~ but we know better. The crazy thing is, that after the holidays, from January 2nd to April 2nd, nary a tourist is here to see them in all their tacky glory, anyway!
You would think, in this day and age of 'energy conservation' that they might reduce the amount of time the lights are kept on and flashing ~ and just have them on during weekends, or something? But, nooooo. . .we are subjected to leaping reindeer, and 'cutsie' nursery rhyme characters in neon, all over town, for almost 6 months of the year. What a wicked waste of electricty!
I've thought about starting a "ban the lights" petition," but I don't think anyone around here cares, or even realizes, that they are paying more because of them; actually, I think the native folks here probably love these lights. This damn Yankee just happens to think they are horrid, and I'd probably be banned back to Boston if I tried.
Driving home last night, I got downright nauseous watching them blinking and flashing all around me.
Can I be the only one who feels this way? Am I turning into an old, bah-humbug Scrooge in my golden years? They remind me of the Christmas television ad for Capitol One - you know, the one where those guys had to find new jobs. . . .(" what's in your wallet?")
We used to take the kids up to the LaSalette Shrine in Attleboro, MA every Christmas to see their light display - but, their lights were on trees for the most part~ not hanging off of telephone poles, and they didn't stay on for 6 months of the year either. Besides, it was cold there in December and the lights created a feeling of warmth and a mood of holiday festivity. Their lights were pretty, not garish, and there was nice Christmas music being piped-out into the area while we walked around drinking our hot chocolate and enjoying the evening.
The light display here just doesn't cut it somehow - something is wrong with this picture. These lights are like the cheap, aluminum fake tree my father used to make me put up in his house each season, after we had moved out and he lived alone. 
It was kept in a box in the cellar all year, and I'd have to drag it upstairs and spend an hour sticking the "branches" into the factory-drilled holes in the "trunk." How gross was that!? ( And, I see now that they are coming back into vogue - o' gag! Why would anyone want a metal Christmas tree?) I'd rather go pick a twig off a pine tree and decorate it.
My idea of a 'tasteful' Christmas display can be seen each year on Nantucket Island. Now, there's a nice annual Christmas walk.
Walking around here, well. . . you're apt to get dizzy and fall over.
I think I'll just stay indoors until they turn those damn lights off . . .
. . . Merry Christmas to all ~ and to all ~ NO MORE LIGHTS!
Sneaky, sneaky! The legislature meets again this week ~ the week of Christmas when they hope no one is watching ~ to vote on the Defense Spending Bill; H.R. 2863. The sneaky part is what they've put into the defense bill at the last moment. They've once again inserted the Arctic Drilling provision into another bill where it doesn't belong. (Their last attempt to fool us failed, thanks to alert, environmentally concerned citizens bombarding their Senators with letters and phone calls, when they snuck it into the Budget bill earlier this year.)
Those powerful, wealthy, oil barons are just determined to pull one over on us! They keep paying their cronies in D.C. big bucks to hide the Arctic oil drilling provision in other legislature in a selfish and greed-driven attempt to get their own way. Senator John McCain has rightfully called this legislative scheme "disgusting."
Make no mistake about it, your state Senators are under enormous pressure to vote 'Yes' on this defense spending bill. According to the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and conceded to by those trying to get it by us, a Senate filibuster, to remove Arctic drilling from the defense bill, would have NO effect on aid to our U.S. troops in Iraq. That's because, if the filibuster succeeds, they will simply remove the Arctic drilling provision, and then the defense spending bill will pass easily.
But without our awareness, and our actions to try to stop it, they could easily get away with it this time.
Then, when oil drilling begins in the Arctic, many people will wonder, "How did that happen?" We will then be told that it was voted in, under bill H.R. 2863, in December 2005. 
Whew! It's a lot of work these days. . . keeping up with all the sneaky crap in D.C.
It looks like we'll just have to keep on watching the watchers, and try to keep them from sneaking stuff by us; that is ~ if we truly value a government 'of the people and by the people.'
And here's the good news!
"Millions of Americans spoke up, and the U.S. Senate listened.
Yesterday afternoon, the Senate rejected an outrageous attempt by the Republican leadership to attach Arctic Refuge drilling to a "must-pass" defense spending bill. The pro-drilling forces needed 60 votes to break a filibuster of the bill, but they could only muster 56.
Thousands of you lit up the Capitol Hill switchboards this week to protest the passing of this bill, which included oil drilling in the Arctic refuge. There's no doubt you helped sway the votes of key Senators who were wavering over these last critical days.
To see how your Senators voted, you can go to our website: http://www.nrdcactionfund.org and click on Arctic voters. If your state Senator(s) voted "no," to save the Arctic, please click on their name(s) in the list and send them a message of gratitude.
(Interesting note ~ I see there that the above-mentioned Senator John McCain, who called this ploy "disgusting," voted "yes" for the bill! What a hypocrite! ~ Cape Karen)
This was another stinging defeat for those pro-drilling Senators who attempted to hijack the defense bill in order to force their special agenda through Congress. The Bush White House and its allies in Congress know full well that they can NEVER win a vote, by the rules, on sacrificing the Arctic Refuge. That's why they've resorted, with increasing desperation, to backdoor maneuvers and abuse of the legislative process.
Today, Senate and House leaders are removing the Arctic drilling provision from the defense bill, and are promising to pass that bill, along with additional funding for hurricane victims, before the holidays.
Thank you for speaking out when it mattered most to America's greatest sanctuary for Arctic wildlife.
May you have a wonderful and peaceful holiday season."
John H. Adams / NRDC Action Fund
When my 90 year-old, ex mother-in-law, writes in a Christmas card that she hopes to see a new President in charge before she "goes" ~ well . . . that's really something . . . especially coming from someone who has been voting since 1936! A grandmother and great-grandmother she knows, that if this keeps up, the future looks grim for those she will leave behind.
How sad is that!
And now, we've learned that our fearful, paranoid leader has gone ahead and spied on American citizens without first obtaining the constitutionally required legal warrants. Afraid that it would result in a Congressional and public outcry, of our Fourth Amendment protections, if he went through available legal channels, he just went right ahead and did his dirty deeds in secret ~ because he could! Because he has the POWER! (Didn't someone named Nixon do something similar years back?) This disclosure makes me wonder what else he's up to that we don't know about?
The secrecy, lies, corruption and greed, that earmark this deranged administration, have gone way beyond acceptable behaviors. The entire focus of this Oval Office seems to be all wrapped-up in terrorist fears and big oil interests. Let's put things in perspective, Mr. Bush - you have a country to run, not just to protect. We have other important day-to-day issues that need attention; poverty and homelessness, the environment, the health-care crisis, social security reform, minimum wage increases would be nice, ~ not to mention curbing your federal spending; spending that has our national debt soaring to never-before-seen heights.
Some kind of sensible balance needs to be established if we are to avoid capsizing and sinking this big ship called, "America." We are sailing in rough seas with a stubborn Captain at the helm; the ship is listing badly, new 'leaks' are spurting-up everywhere ~ and, I don't know about you ~ but I'm getting really seasick and scared.
Maybe in the New Year we will have a sea-change?
If not ~ man the lifeboats!
Leaders from around the world are meeting right now in Montreal to discuss international efforts to find new ways to reduce global warming and emissions pollution. Shamefully, the U.S. has chosen not to engage in these important worldwide discussions. Despite a lot of empty talk from Washington about global warming, our President and our elected officials are refusing to take any meaningful action whatsoever, in regard to our planet's environmental health, and our future.
In Montreal, the many countries who do care are meeting to discuss the next phase of the Kyoto Protocol - the international agreement to reduce global warming pollution. These are crucial discussions, designed to brainstorm and find long-term and effective solutions to this problem; which also include a historic effort by the rainforest nations to curb deforestation.
The Kyoto Protocol may not be the only answer, and it might just be too little, too late; but at least it is a global attempt to do something about the climate changes that are threatening everything we hold dear. Not to participate is just downright immoral! That the U.S. government is not even interested, or concerned enough, to join the negotiations ~ even though global warming's effects have been all too visible in our country this year ~ is just beyond my comprehension. The apathy and indifference being exhibited by our country's leader and our elected government officials, regarding the state of the environment, can no longer be ignored. It's time for all of us to speak up ~ loud and clear!
Among some of the 2005 warning signs:
The ferocity of recent hurricanes is a sign that global warming is already increasing and intensifying the number of tropical storms along our U.S. coastlines; and many leading scientists believe it is going to get worse in the coming decades. (Worse than Katrina!)
Arctic ice melting advanced again this summer, opening up the possibility of ice-free Arctic summers and dangerously accelerating global warming. Because less ice leads to more heat absorption from the sun - a prospect with devastating consequences for all the Arctic animals and humans who live there - this is not an inconsequential matter.
Vital eco-systems in the ocean's coral reefs are rapidly bleaching and dying. These spectacular 'rainforests of the sea' are at severe risk as warmer waters, more acidic oceans and stronger storms take their combined toll upon them.
If we are going to help to reduce global warming, we have to first deal with all the hot air coming from our elected officials. We need to get our message of concern to Washington quickly; and in great numbers! It's urgent that we demand that our government join the worldwide efforts to address this issue; by signing the petition at the website below, you can let them know what you want for Christmas this year ~ a safer, and healthier environment.
Please go to this website and add your name to the petition: http://www.environmentaldefense.org
Here is a recent AP report from Montreal showing the concern worldwide:
Thousands of protesters took to the streets in cities worldwide Saturday to demand urgent action on global warming as delegates continued their work at an international climate change conference to review and update the Kyoto Protocol.
Police said about 7,000 people marched in downtown Montreal ~ some dressed as polar bears. Five environmental groups, including Greenpeace and the Climate Crisis Coalition, delivered a petition signed by 600,000 Americans to the U.S. consulate in Montreal, urging President Bush and Congress to help slow global warming. "We're worried about climate change, and about life in the Canadian Arctic disappearing," said Sarah Binder of Montreal's Urban Ecology Center.
Organizers said 10,000 people marched through London, passing Prime Minister Tony Blair's home on Downing Street, where they delivered a letter demanding the British government reaffirm its commitment to Kyoto with legally binding targets on emissions reductions. Chanting and blowing whistles, the marchers denounced Blair and Bush for their environmental failings. Some held banners depicting Bush as "Wanted: For Crimes Against The Planet" and advising, "Ditch Blair, not Kyoto."
The Canadian Inuit traveled to Montreal from the isolated Arctic north to join the protest. Indian leader, Jose Kusugak, told The Associated Press that he brought along hunters, trappers and elders to reassure them that people from the south were not indifferent to their plight.
"It was important to show them that there are a lot of people in the world who care," he said. President Bush has been widely criticized for pulling out of the treaty, which binds industrialized nations to lowering their greenhouse gas emissions.
The United States, which spews out nearly 25 percent of the world's carbon emissions, was the target of many angry demonstrators.
Perhaps some of us are unable or unwilling to go out and demonstrate in the streets ~ but, we can show our concern for Planet Earth by signing the E.D. petition today. It only takes a few seconds . . . .
Thanks for your help ~
Yesterday was an uneventful day here in the Great Smoky Mountains. It a was chilly and sunny day. We are happy to have this cooler weather, at long last ~ it has been such a long, hot summer and fall here.
My cat, Smudge, an indoor house cat, likes to go out on our deck from time to time each day. She has her little morning routine where after I feed her, she then goes over to her scratching post, does her little claw sharpening routine ~ and then she races for the front door ~ her way of telling me she wants to go out.
I always let her go out onto the deck, but because outdoor noises scare her; noises like cars racing by or dogs barking, and because I don't like having to keep jumping up and down to accomodate her "in and out" whims, I leave both the storm door and the inside door open a crack ~ just wide enough so that she can come in and out at will. She never leaves the deck. She's so sweet ~ she just sits there enjoying the sunshine and the fresh air; here she is waiting for birds to come to the feeders. 
Because of this 'lazy-on-my-part' arrangement, we've had a couple of incidents where a stray cat has entered the house and has fed on her food while I was busy in the den, or doing something out of sight. On those occassions, I'll usually hear a noise, and I'll promptly shoo the stray cat back outdoors.
We've even had birds flying around. There have been a couple of times when she's fancied that she needed a "playmate," and she's brought a bird inside, unharmed, as a "gift" for me. (No mice, just birds.) I'm always amazed at how gentle she is, and that she never attempts to eat them or to hurt them in any way. She just wants to play. So, yes ~ I've ended up chasing cats and birds out of the house, but it's rare, and it's really no big deal.
(All for the pleasure of our indoor/outdoor, deck-sitting, house cat.)
But ~ I'm afraid all that will have to change now.
Evidently, a couple of days ago, a creature entered our house very quietly, and I was not aware of its presence. Yesterday morning, I noticed that a bag of dry cat food had been knocked onto the floor, and that some animal had chewed holes in it. Smudge would never do that, so I figured I had just missed the occassional visit from another stray cat, and that it had come and gone. I cleaned up the cat food mess, checked all around the rest of the house, and everything was just fine.
Then, around 1:00 a.m. this morning, I suddenly heard something fall. It sounded like a bottle or a can, in the pantry; it hit the floor with a loud thud! I called for Smudge, thinking she had been climbing on the pantry shelves, but she didn't come like she usually does.
At the time, I was sitting in bed, in the dark, watching a TV show on the Discovery channel called, "A Haunting." That show had been scaring the bejeezes outta me to start with ~ and now, I was really spooked! There was someone, or something, in our house! (**Eeeek!**)
Grabbing my little bedside flashlight, I crept out of bed slowly and cracked open the door about an inch; I shone the light down the dark hallway, towards the kitchen where we keep Smudge's food and water.
And, this is what I saw . . .
O' my god! A real live possom was staring right at me; his bright white face and his little beady eyes were shining in the flashlight's glare! I slammed the door shut and screamed for Frank to wake up!
He was very annoyed to be so rudely awakened, but I didn't care. I was too busy screaming: "There's a big possum in the house!"
Frank, being a good Minnesotan hunter, keeps a loaded pellet gun by the front door ~ ready to shoot the occassional skunk or rabbit that gets into his vegetable garden.
My Hero! He bravely went out into the hallway and into the kitchen area, in his bare feet, to rid our home of this "beastie in the night." I stayed cowering behind the door, up on the bed, listening. . . as he tried to shoo the animal out of the house. But, "Pete the Possum" was scared now, and he was also cowering. . . behind a chair in the living room; and he was hissing at barefoot Frank, in fear.
Suddenly, I hear: "Pop! Pop! Pop!" I'm thinking, "O' good grief ~ he's shot the damn thing, and there's going to be blood and guts all over my living room!"
I was right ~ but, not a lot of blood and guts; he was kind enough to only wound it slightly, just enough to get it to run out the open door. It was enough, though, that I did spend half an hour shampooing the carpet, washing a blood-spattered wall, picking up possum poop. . . and gagging!
Smudge, I hate to tell you this, but I'm not leaving the door open a crack anymore. You're going to have to be satisfied sniffing fresh air through a cracked-open, screen-covered window from now on.
And, by the way ~ where the heck were YOU while a BIG FAT possum roamed around your house all day and night?
GEEEEEEEZZZZZZ!
(Thank goodness it wasn't a skunk!)
T'is a few weeks before Christmas and down in the Deep South
the former resident's remain scattered; living elsewhere ~ hand to mouth.
FEMA says they are broke now ~ and no money is there ~ to help them rebuild, or even make a repair.
One hundred days later they go back to find, the remains of the homes that they left far behind.
They find them filled top to bottom with mildew and mold; they know all they can do is bulldoze, and fold.
The levee remains broken, along with their hearts; their future has been left wanting, with flimsy stops and starts.
Meanwhile, we're fighting a very cruel war, in a land filled with strangers, and horrors and more.
We're busy rebuilding the country of Iraq, while our own folks go homeless ~ they can't find their way back.
Where are our leaders in this Land of the Free? Where is the aid for citizens like you and me?
We're known as the richest country in the world; yet our own people are left hanging, like a flag unfurled.
The aftermath of this disaster on American soil makes me so mad, I can feel my blood boil!
As I watched Mr. Bush step up to light The Tree, all I could think of were the people of the sea.
They wait and they wonder; they pray and they cope.
Why, Mr. Bush, are you giving them no hope?
