Memories of a Dawn Walk on Biloxi Beach

Biloxi Beach before Katrina and major oil spill

I was combing my photographic files for a suitable picture to enter in an on line photo contest and came upon this on taken on a dawn stroll along a empty beach. My sister and I took our first Thelma and Louise Road Trip on the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico. We traveled from Houston, Texas to Pensacola, Florida taking the coastal roads as much as possible. When Katrina hit this area I cried for days every time there was a news item. 

Most of those focused on New Orleans but I could only think of the more coastal areas: the beaches and bayous and marsh lands that are the bridges between land and the sea. The winds and tidal surge and scouring waves devastated this area. An online friend of mine recently posted pictures of some of these areas which have yet to recover from Katrina. Now these same areas and the wild life that inhabit them are being coated with black oil because of the waste and greed and corporate irresponsibility of man.

I can forgive Katrina, she was a product of the mysteries of nature. But I cannot forgive BP and Haliburton.

Transition

I began this blog originally as a replacement for my Yahoo!360 blog if it came to that. And then transitioned it into being a political blog in part to explain the primary process to some of my world friends. In that process I learned a great deal.

And than learning has continued throughout the political process. Now I am finding out about the transitional process taking place.

In a world where everything seems to move so fast these days it seemed like an awfully long time from the first Tuesday in November until January 20th when the president-elect is sworn into office and actually takes power. But some things do seem to start happening almost immediately. And is more than just measuring for drapes like McCain joked in the closing days of the campaign.

On Thursday President-elect Obama began getting the same daily national security briefings that the sitting president, GW Bush gets so that he can be up to speed on world issues. And, as we have seen, Obama has begun to put his staff together and begin the vetting process for his cabinet positions. President Bush has promised a smooth transition of power. But we do know from 2001 that does not always happen.

Out-going President Bill Clinton's staff passed off with some urgency information about a possible major terrorist attack that the Bush incoming staff ignored. Depending on what side of the conspiracy theories you are on they either elected to ignore it with willful intent because they figured it was minor and when it occurred might advance their agenda or the were disdainful of any information coming from Democrats. The result was the same: 9/ll. And as it happens Bush/Cheney got to advance their agenda of depriving citizens of privacy and civil liberties and having an excuse (all be it a thin one) to invade Iraq and make millions for Haliburton.

Let us all hope that this hand-off of power is smoother this time and no balls are dropped intentionally or accidentally. The economy is going to be a major hand-off and no doubt GW is ready to see quit to that issue. And Obama seems to have given priority to picking his economic advisers. Will the current White House staff allow them to call some plays early for the sake of the American people and the world? Let us hope so.

As for this blog I am looking forward to learning about the transition process and sharing my views here. But I am also looking ahead to covering some of the issues that concern me most as the US and the world move forward together. Needless to say this list includes global warming, over-fishing of our seas, green energy, water and its misuse, nuclear power plants and their placement on fault line, disposal of nuclear waste in my part of the country, etc. I don't think I will get bored.

Note: Opening illustration is Marcel Duchamp's Virgin Transitioning to Bride.