So a man decides his wedding and honeymoon are more important than anyone’s health…never mind his own…sprints through several countries to Greece and back, sneaks in via Canada when the CDC tell him he is NOT to fly aboard commercial airlines, drives from Montral to the US and, courtesy of the CDC is taken to Atlanta to be hospitalized. Now airlines, several countries, an hotel and who knows how many others are on a search for those who had close contact with this…pompous jerk. He calls himself a “successful, intelligent man” yet freely admits that when told he had to turn himself into Italian health authorities…”…you’re nuts! I wasn’t going to do that!”

Okay, so “they” say he isn’t a threat despite the fact that it was already termed a “fatal form of the disease” as well as “rare” and drug resistant. Oh…that’s reassuring…and NOT the point. Currently under armed guard quarantine in Atlanta, he’s got the nerve to be choked that he’s being guarded. Why? And why is he not being prosecuted? Anyone else who threatened GBH would be…and rightly so. This man…not only is he as bad, he’s worse. And certainly not what I would call intelligent.

Me, I’d do the same with him as has been done with other, most of them only so-called Domestic Terrorists…lock him up, let him sit and wait a trial that could take a few years and let’s see how “intelligent” he thinks he is, then. 

So… some talk show hosts have politics… some have school issues… I don’t know how I got stuck as the fast food watch dog.. k… using the term dog and fast food in the same sentence.. maybe not a great idea..

Anyway… did you ever notice how fergalicious the sandwiches look on the fast food menu board or in tv ads?? (Like, you know? Wow… a number 3.. a number 5 and.. two hashbrowns… oh… and three orange drinks.. and maybe another number 3.. but, supersize that one.. oh and can you give me extra bacon on those french fries?)

Well.. I’ve stumbled upon a Web site that illustrates the difference between the advertising pictures and the actual sandwiches.. want a sample to wet your appetite?

How about the delicious Burger King Whopper?
 vs.

mmmmm…. I’m getting hungry…

Want some more samples… visit this website

Are the Skateboard restrictions in Rehoboth Beach too stringent? Another season starts.. another series of violations occurs.. (see photo :below: courtesy of the henney report, http://www.henney.com/)

So basically the city ordinance states “No skateboards anywhere in, around, or near the city or Rehoboth are to be ridden, viewed, stared at, or smelt.” So, the fine isn’t wallet busting..

[Any person violating any of the provisions of this article shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined for the first offense not less than $15 nor more than $25, and for a second or subsequent offense shall be fined not less than $25 and shall pay the costs of prosecution. [Amended 4-21-2003 by Ord. No. 0503-3]

But are they really that bad? Is it the danger? The Sound? The element? Do they scuff up the fancy Rehoboth sandscaping?

I think that it does make the city a little less family friendly.. but, I understand wanted to keep the city safe and sound… or safe from sound??

A. It shall be unlawful for any person to ride or operate any skateboard on and/or over any sidewalk adjoining any street, any street in the City of Rehoboth Beach from May 15 until September 15 of any year.

B. It shall be unlawful for any person to ride or operate any skateboard or scooter on and/or over the bandstand or any public structures throughout the entire year. The term “public structures” shall, in addition to its ordinary meaning, include but not be limited to the city’s benches, plaques, memorials and steps.

C. It shall be unlawful for any person to ride or operate any skateboard on, under and/or over the Boardwalk or any of the Boardwalk pavilions throughout the entire year.

Is there no way skaters and regular folk can get along? I’ve seen plenty of worse things in Rehoboth than a dirty skater kid. Although, they’re a little too full of themselves for me. (that last statement has nothing to do with the fact that I’ve never been coordinated enough to shred the pavement.)

Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), lead a junket of 15 members of Congress to Greenland, so she could see “firsthand evidence that climate change is a reality,” and then add to it as much as she possibly could in one weekend.

In Greenland, Pelosi was joined by her newly created House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, a committee that is so focused on Global Warming and it’s causes that they don’t bother to specify in their rules that members try to travel commercial, or travel together, or travel in energy efficient ways, in fact, they don’t even require members to submit their method of travel for approval:

Rule 13. Travel of Members and Staff.
(a) Approval of Travel. Consistent with the primary expense resolution and such additional expense resolutions as may have been approved, travel to be reimbursed from funds set aside for the Committee for any member or any staff member shall be paid only upon the prior authorization of the Chairman. Travel may be authorized by the Chairman for any member and any staff member in connection with the attendance of hearings conducted by the Committee or any subcommittee thereof and meetings, conferences, and investigations which involve activities or subject matter under the general jurisdiction of the Committee. Before such authorization is given there shall be submitted to the Chairman, in writing, the following: (1) the purpose of the travel; (2) the dates during which the travel is to be made and the date or dates of the event for which the travel is being made; (3) the location of the event for which the travel is to be made; and (4) the names of members and staff seeking authorization.
(b) Approval of Travel by Minority Members and Staff. In the case of travel by minority party members and minority party professional staff for the purpose set out in paragraph (a), the prior approval, not only of the Chairman but also of the Ranking Minority Member, shall be required. Such prior authorization shall be given by the Chairman only upon the representation by the Ranking Minority Member, in writing, setting forth those items enumerated in (1), (2), (3), and (4) of paragraph (a).

The Congressional delegation was met in Greenland by University of Colorado scientist Konrad Steffen:

Steffen said he plans to discuss sea-level rise with Pelosi, Markey and their colleagues. His continuous measurements since 1990 have shown the Greenland ice sheet to be responding faster to global warming than estimated.

So, because the ice sheet is melting due to global warming much “faster” than Steffan thought, he’s making the most of it by hosting a myriad of “guests” to witness it, all of whom are flown in by helicopter:

Steffen receives many guests, a lot of whom bring large cameras along. German television is on the ice sheet now; before them, it was National Geographic. CNN arrives today and will be there when the helicopters start ferrying congress members in Saturday evening, Steffen said via satellite phone Wednesday evening.

Congressman Ed Markey (D-MA), who arranged for the whirlwind trip, wanted the entire House Committee to go, and, of course, a special flight was needed to make sure the Congressional delegation would have sleeping bags if they got snowed it because apparently members of Congress who are studying global warming cannot travel simultaneously in helicopters with sleeping bags.

The possibility of congress members visiting Steffen at Swiss Camp came up during a conversation with Edward Markey, chairman of the 15-member House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. Markey thought the whole committee should visit Greenland. Steffen agreed, although he said he thought Markey was just trying to be nice.

Two helicopters will bring as many as eight legislators each, the first arriving at 8:30 p.m. Saturday carrying Pelosi, Markey and others, and the second 90 minutes later. For some period, all 16 will overlap at Swiss Camp, which normally tops out at 14 residents.

Among those with Steffen currently are CU graduate students Kevin Sampson and Thomas Phillips.

By 10:30 p.m., the lawmakers will be gone again. The delegation will spend the night in Ilulissat, have Sunday lunch with the president of the home-rule government of Greenland, tour the fjords, and fly back to Washington, D.C., Steffen said.

Steffen asked the National Science Foundation to fly in 16 emergency sleeping bags in case of bad weather or a helicopter breakdown.

A special flight just for sleeping bags. Sheesh. Between members of Congress and environmental scientists, the earth doesn’t have a chance if global warming is, in fact, man-made.

I saw “global warming” and glaciers melting in Greenland. I watched it in dozens of internet videos like this one by Greenpeace, or this one on youtube. In fact, you can read about what University of Colorado professor Konrad Steffan is doing in Greenland here, instead of traveling all of the way to Greenland to see it “firsthand.”

It’s been a busy weekend for Cindy Sheehan. On Saturday, she quit the Democratic Party because of the Iraq war funding bill…

As for myself, I am leaving the Democratic Party. You have completely failed those who put you in power to change the direction our country is heading. We did not elect you to help sink our ship of state but to guide it to safe harbor.

…and she called for a meeting in Philadelphia on July 4th…

The Camp Casey Peace Institute is calling all citizens who are as disgusted as we are with you all to join us in Philadelphia on July 4th to try and figure a way out of this “two” party system that is bought and paid for by the war machine which has a stranglehold on every aspect of our lives.

Then, earlier today, in a shocking turn of events, Sheehan quit the anti war movement:

I am going to take whatever I have left and go home. I am going to go home and be a mother to my surviving children and try to regain some of what I have lost. I will try to maintain and nurture some very positive relationships that I have found in the journey that I was forced into when Casey died and try to repair some of the ones that have fallen apart since I began this single-minded crusade to try and change a paradigm that is now, I am afraid, carved in immovable, unbendable and rigidly mendacious marble.

Camp Casey has served its purpose. It’s for sale. Anyone want to buy five beautiful acres in Crawford , Texas ? I will consider any reasonable offer. I hear George Bush will be moving out soon, too…which makes the property even more valuable.

This is my resignation letter as the “face” of the American anti-war movement. This is not my “Checkers” moment, because I will never give up trying to help people in the world who are harmed by the empire of the good old US of A, but I am finished working in, or outside of this system. This system forcefully resists being helped and eats up the people who try to help it. I am getting out before it totally consumes me or anymore people that I love and the rest of my resources.

Good-bye America …you are not the country that I love and I finally realized no matter how much I sacrifice, I can’t make you be that country unless you want it.

It’s up to you now.

Sheehan has been in the spotlight since she demanded to meet with President Bush about her son’s death in Iraq after she met with President Bush about her son’s death in Iraq. She purchased property close to the President’s personal residence in Crawford, Texas, in order to somehow gain access to the President again, and named it “Camp Casey” after her son. Her many attempts failed to get her a second meeting with Bush.

No word yet on whether this latest twist means the July 4th meeting in Philly is off.

“It was 1866 and the United States was recovering from the long and bloody Civil War between the North and the South. Surviving soldiers came home, some with missing limbs, and all with stories to tell. Henry Welles, a drugstore owner in Waterloo, New York, heard the stories and had an idea. He suggested that all the shops in town close for one day to honor the soldiers who were killed in the Civil War and were buried in the Waterloo cemetery. On the morning of May 5, the townspeople placed flowers, wreaths and crosses on the graves of the Northern soldiers in the cemetery. At about the same time, Retired Major General Jonathan A. Logan planned another ceremony, this time for the soldiers who survived the war. He led the veterans through town to the cemetery to decorate their comrades’ graves with flags. It was not a happy celebration, but a memorial. The towns people called it Decoration Day.

In Retired Major General Logan’s proclamation of Memorial Day, he declared:

“The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country and during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land. In this observance no form of ceremony is prescribed, but posts and comrades will in their own way arrange such fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit.”“

That was then. How, in the name of “progress” did we arrive at this somber or even grateful day now being “celebrated” as the harbinger of summer and sale festivities? Going about our daily business or pursuits this weekend (starting the tail end of last week) we hear “Have a happy Memorial Day!” sung in jovial tones. A week ago…and today…the Sunday papers and mailboxes are stuffed with “Memorial Day SALE!” news, anything from cars to furniture to summer/beach wear to dietary aids; from dealerships, dept. stores, pharmacies and very few, if any, stores choose to close on this day of remembrance. The Indy 500…traditional it may be but just how does that tie in with the purpose of Memorial Day?

When I first came to this country…to the Mid-West…I had no concept of Memorial Day until my relatives there enlightened me. Some of them still called it Decoration Day…and that’s how we spent the “holiday”…visiting gravesites of both veteran and other family members gone before. As a twenty-one year old my first Memorial Day did seem a bit “different” than commemorative days to which I had previously been accustomed but I found it just as eloquent, dignified and appropriate. Other family members returned home for the weekend if they lived close enough to manage to do so and, yes…there were special holiday-type meals, cook-outs and reminiscing. No shopping. (And, no…this wasn’t in the early 1900’s but the late ’60’s!) It was a weekend of remembering those no longer with us, a time to be together for that express purpose.

This year, on this “holiday” weekend, we have suffered more military deaths and casualties than we did the year before, in one year. We have even more of our military men and women spending this weekend with families, having deployment orders for Iraq in bags already packed for imminent departure…a young friend of ours being one of those. We have hundreds of newly disabled veterans fighting here at home to get back to whatever normalcy of living they and their families hope they might achieve. We have several thousand (at least) families and friends grieving those who were only returnable in a flag-draped casket. But, hey! We have a major sale/party weekend!

It’s not that I begrudge anyone their sales…either having or enjoying shopping them but if we need yet another excuse for a sale-day could we revert back to doing so following Memorial Day, not during?

I wish you all a weekend of loving remembrance with family and friends…not a “***** Memorial Day!”

This is from Mark Carter, head of the Delaware Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation and a trainer at Quest Fitness:

Next DE Chapter meeting: Monday, JUNE 4th / 7 PM / @ DOGFISH (upstairs)

DE Chapter Surfrider News

Potential KAYAK Cleanup
Last meeting sparked some interest in a Kayak Cleanup. We’ve done this in past with the RBSA where we’ve paddled to Thompson’s Island and cleaned the beach followed by a BBQ. An area that could use a lot of help and would be a great paddle is Beach Plum Island to north of Roosevelt inlet. I’ll put some ideas out in a separate email to check interest.

HURRICANE PARTY
The chapter will be holding a “Hurricane Party” at the Historic Milton Theater on Sept. 22nd. The plan is to have a “mixer” type of event followed by two films. There will be an intermission b/t films to allow for door prizes, etc. We would have info. booths set up and a silent auction. I am working with Woodshed Films (Sept Sessions, Sprout, Brokedown Melody, etc) to acquire films. We need volunteers for numerous tasks to include PR, decore, staffing the booth, ticket sales, posters, etc.etc.

WATER QUALITY PROGRAM
The state has resumed weekly water testing for Herring Point, Virginia Ave., Reho Ave., Delaware Ave., Tower Road, North Side IR Inlet and Bethany Beach.

Results from the state testing are posted on the web at the DNREC website HERE.

As far as the chapter collecting samples goes….we will resume collecting samples on non-state testing weeks in the fall. HOWEVER, we will gather at surf spots during storm periods throughout the summer or if we see a need to do so (i.e. Surfers getting sick again, etc.). I will try to get a schedule of our weeks for this fall/winter and post it soon so we can volunteer for a testing day. For more info on this email or call me.

T-SHIRTS
We have a T-Shirt Design. Right now we are getting them made up; the plan is to order ORGANIC T-shirts and perhaps some hats and visors for the summer. Come fall, we may look at Hoodies and Beanies. Shirt colors will be Navy w/ white lettering and Chocolate w/ white lettering. More to come soon to include pricing and availability.

BEACH CLEANUPS
Next cleanup is at Rehoboth Beach / July / Exact Date TBA
Indian River Inlet / Aug. 11th

HERRING POINT UPDATE
Herring Point will be back in action this weekend. Now, let’s pray for surf and see how the new jetty works for us.

LIQUID SURF SHOP
There’s a new surf/snow/skate shop open. LIQUID is on Rt. 1 southbound across from the Giant shopping center. It’s the cedar shake building and it’s got some soul to it, so check it out.

INTERNATIONAL SURF DAY
FYI. International Surf Day is June 21st…it’s a Thursday…GO SURF!!!!

CLEAN WATER PADDLEOUT
Just a heads up for an upcoming event. We’ll plan to join the OC, Maryland Chapter for the Clean Water Paddle Out, so mark your calendars. DATE: Sept 8th / Ocean City, MD

Thanks, Mark!

Coming down Rt.5 from a lunch date, today…spotted a white dirigible coming east from Milford. Lucky I was a passenger :)! We…mostly I…watched it as we drove towards Rt. 24 at Long Neck and I was envious but even more curious. No advertising visible at all and though not a “Hindenberg” seemed like it would be pretty good size for the altitude. We could see the nose elevate periodically as it headed down towards Rehoboth and/or who knows where. I’m hoping our readers/listeners also saw it and, especially, someone knows a bit more information as to whom it belonged, whence it came and where it was headed. What a cool ride!

From Randy Nelson:

Honeybees, whose pollination efforts are essential to one-third of the human food supply, are dying by the millions across the United States and scientists have no idea why. Robert Mitchell with the Department of Agriculture, Dr. Dewey Caron with the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology and a bee researcher and Warren Seaver, President of the Delaware Bee Keepers Association join me.

Listen HERE to the discussion on WGMD’s The Randy Nelson Show.

US Editor of The Times, Gerard Baker, puts the Carter years into perspective after the former President called the Bush Administration “the worst in history” earlier this week:

The US jobless rate was more than 10 per cent. Inflation touched 15 per cent. Soviet troops marched unmolested into Afghanistan. America watched helpless as its diplomats were held hostage by Iranian revolutionaries for 444 days. In the rest of the world, from Latin America to Asia, American power yielded to the communist advance; economically, America was being bested by Japan and Germany.

And then there was the moment when the US President was almost felled by a killer rabbit. It struck one day in 1979 when Mr Carter was in the presidential dinghy on a fishing trip in Georgia. A large, evidently amphibious animal with big floppy ears and protuberant teeth swam boldly up to the President’s boat and had to be smacked away with a paddle….

I was 12 when Carter took office in 1977, and Baker evokes the images of the Carter Administration that I remember the most:

Americans being held by a fanatical regime for over a year…

A president trying to scare away a bunny with a boat paddle….

But I must say Baker does drop the ball when he seems to look back fondly on the fashion.