I. “If This Be Treason Make the Most of It!”
I will not interpret or attribute the quote above nor even say what it has to do with the horrors and struggle in the Gulf of Mexico. For me the gusher crisis is the very strong indication that we should have real and radical change. I do not think we are likely to undertake the right changes. However, prior to the spill I had been outlining some ideas for radical change. I believe that the word Tyranny which was once the greek word for a bad monarchhas been changed by usage. The Greeks had a word for a bad aristocracy which we translate as oligarchy now and a word for a bad democracy which was ochlocracy. They could discuss intelligently what a mixed government that combined the rule of the many, few and one would be like when it was rotten. Even though most of there best political sages believed the best government would combine rule of the one, the few and the many. Other thinkers like Montesquieu also saw that mix as ideal and it is the template of our governance. But I do believe our government has become corrupt as an institution in a way which makes it an institutional tyranny. It is from this base of ideas that I have written many blogs posts about radical political change. These posts propose change. However, while I am not hiding these posts there are too many of these blog posts to link them all to this site. These posts are in this blog and follow the link I am posting just below and the one linked here is a good place to start reading them:
I have among these many posts one which describes changes that might be useful to have in effect as this crisis has developed. So it will be out of sequence but will show where the proposed regime had intended to bring the country:
While the post describes the inner workings of a proposed regime which is complex and has many parts I think you could read the two posts I have linked from that long series and have some ideas about what a possible regime change might aim to achieve. If it did exist right now then the Imperial Waste Authority (which is purely imaginary right now) might play a vital role.
II.Business Media Coverage of the Oil Spill
This catastrophic spill is getting attention even from those who one might argue are the most committed to the status quo. See the Wall Street Journal’s coverage in the link below:
See also Bloomberg’s Business Week
So while none of these people or institutions are advocating radical change as I am they can all see that this is a very serious situation. We are also in a country which was already in some trouble and had some difficulties which were well-defined before this gusher blew through its controls. Besides those who are making lots of money in business under the current mode of the country’s operations there are also those who are highly motivated to be recognized as being accurate. I have a few links showing the views of such people and institutions seeking to discuss the BP Transocean rig Macondo wellsite Gulf of Mexico Spill:
III. Academic Insight into the Spill
My own undergraduate alma mater:
UL 1. http://www.louisiana.edu/Advancement/PRNS/news/2010/477.shtml
UL 2. http://www.louisiana.edu/Advancement/PRNS/news/2010/EnvironmentalEffects.pdf
This University of Louisiana has a lot of resources to bring to this discussion that are likely to emerge as the crisis unfolds. They are likely to bring more of those resources to bear as one needs to analyse things in detail. They have expertise in petroleum and wetlands related subjects for example. However, they also have expertise in understanding how the whole complex of cultural and market forces which make up the state’s tourism scene. See this link for that coverage:
UL. 3 http://www.louisiana.edu/AboutUs/Excellence/CCET.shtml
My own graduate alma mater, Louisiana State University:
However, I want to make it very clear that I am referring to none of these people and groups in the Academic because I believe that they advocate cultural change. All of the people listed above are simply evidence that there are major issues involved in this major event.
The longer the crisis goes on the more there will be discussion of what it all means. The news is still spreading. The ferment of political discontent may grow over time. BP has no certainty about when it can get control of this situation. We are in the throes of a full-blown calamity. The world can see the struggle as well, which I indicated in my last post. I have a sampling of world press coverage of these events which indicates that this spill commands some world attention.
IV. World Press Coverage
See this example of coverage in the China People’s Daily:
WPC 1. http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90852/7012683.html
The online version of El Diario from Mexico:
WPC 2. http://www.diario.com.mx/nota.php?notaid=3e3a7ea2c10f01e84a137cfa322f779e
The coverage in the international online periodical Japan Times:
V. American Change Agents
There is a crisis. That much we know and the question becomes is our system creating or worsening the crisis in many ways. I think that it is. I want to explore our political situation within this context. Now I am leaving behind a review only of the discussion of the BP Gulf of Mexico Spill. I want to discuss those who are looking for change. They do not all seek the same kinds of change and some do not believe they favor any kind of radical change. Yet, the truth is that all of them are seeking change and proposing policy or lifestyles that if they were more successful would remake America. I am listing only groups that I believe are both legitimately American and legitimately responsible groups.
I think that we can argue that this is a time that demands radical change. I do argue that it is time for radical change. While the regime change that I have proposed earlier in this blog’s posts are my ideas and I do not claim that other American change agents support them I do think it is significant that there are many “American Change Agents” who are not informed by selfishness or hate primarily but pursue differing responsible ideals. So I want to discuss what the options are and why we should consider those options. Of course I would like to see them informing and enriching the vision I have proposed. Together we might reach more successful solutions.
A Sampling of Other American Change Agents
Catholic Far left with Deep Right Harmonies
ACA 1. http://www.catholicworker.org/communities/index.cfm
Deep Indigenous Right with Left Roots Harmonies
ACA 2. http://www.ncai.org/
American Critical Left
ACA 3. http://motherjones.com/politics/2010/06/next-deepwater-horizon
Mostly Protestant Activist Left
ACA 4. http://go.sojo.net/campaign/climate2010
Strident Independent Outside Objectivism
ACA 5. http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2010/0604/Louisianans-to-Obama-on-BP-oil-spill-Show-us-we-matter
The Counterrevolutionary Right in Catholic Populist Form
ACA 6. http://www.tfp.org/
Committed Christian Fringe Left
ACA 7. http://mcc.org/
Center Right Patriotic Catholic Voice
ACA 8. http://www.kofc.org/un/eb/en/index.html
This is only a reminder of a group people say is dead — I do not agree.
ACA 9. http://www.royalty.nu/America/Hawaii.html
American Leftist Innovation
ACA 10. http://users.erols.com/ccnv/
Deep British American Centrist Force
ACA 11. http://www.scottishrite.org/
Trying to find and preserve a Confederate Voice
ACA 12. http://www.scv.org/
V. GOHSEP’s Oil Sightings
I would like to end this post as I have the last two posts by simply reproducing what is reported on GOHSEP’s site in terms of daily oil sightings. They show that we still have not yet reached the worst case scenario but things are not good.
Oil Sightings Report June 4, 2010
Plaquemines:
Sighting: Heavy streamers 5 miles east of Grand Terre Islands
Date: 4 Jun 10
Sighting: Sheen near South Monka Island, 7 miles NW of Barataria Bay
Date: 4 Jun 10
Sighting: Thick oil in the Lake Washington area, 8 miles NE of Grand Terre Islands
Date: 4 Jun 10
Sighting: Sheen with tar balls approximately 1 mile NW of Grand Bank Bayou with stranded wildlife
Date: 4 Jun 10
Sighting: Oil south of Bennie’s Pond, 7 miles NE of Pilot town
Date: 4 Jun 10
Sighting: North of Bay Long, the boom around the island is completely saturated and allowing the oil to approach the marsh
Date: 4 Jun 10
Sighting: Oil on the rocks off the state park shore
Date: 4 Jun 10
Sighting: Oily sheen located at the mouth of Bay Baptiste
Date: 4 Jun 10
Sighting: Heavy sheen at Four Bayou Pass, 7 miles NE of Grand Terre Islands
Date: 4 Jun 10
Sighting: 50 yards of saturated hard boom on the bank at Quatre Bayou Pass
Date: 4 Jun 10
Sighting: Oil on an island in the eastern portion of Bay Jimmy extending 3 to 4 miles N of the island
Date: 4 Jun 10
Sighting: Sheen with tar balls 200 feet wide in Bay Long at Point Chenier Ronquille
Date: 4 Jun 10
Sighting: Heavy oil sheen at Pass Abel, 8 miles E of Jetty South Pass Light
Date: 4 Jun 10
Jefferson Parish:
Sighting: Metallic sheen with tar balls extending from Middle Bank in Barataria Bay to Coupe Abel
Date: 4 Jun 10.
Sighting: Oil with sheen at Port Eads, 3 miles W of Grand Terre Islands
Date: 4 Jun 10.
Sighting: Sheen in water, mile E of Mendicant Island
Date: 4 Jun 10.
Sighting: Oil just off rocks, SW side of the Grand Terre Islands
Date: 4 Jun 10.
Sighting: Heavy oil with streamers, 3 to 4 miles inside Coupe Abel Pass
Date: 4 Jun 10.
Sighting: Oil slick with stranded wildlife in the middle of Barataria Bay
Date: 4 Jun 10.
Sighting: Oil 2 miles E of Grand Isle with stranded wildlife
Date: 4 Jun 10.
Sighting: Oil 1 mile SE of Basa Basa Island
Date: 4 Jun 10.
Sighting: Oil 1 mile SE of Grand Terre Island with stranded pelicans
Date: 4 Jun 10.
Sighting: Large tar mat mile SE of Barataria Pass
Date: 4 Jun 10.
Lafourche Parish:
Sighting: Gray sheen ribbons between Snail Bay and St. Joseph Bay 2 miles South East of Little Lake
Date: 4 Jun 10
Terrebonne Parish:
Sighting: 2 miles of containment boom on the shore of Raccoon Island
Date: 4 Jun 10
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