Boston Graveyard 1994

Sleeping face upwards in the fields all night,

You will hear the din of a thousand baleful cries

Among the dusky sea of identical monuments

That like a poor idle regiment are the

Forlorn divisions of stone.

O Lord, do you see these wounds we carry

How we wander up and down lamenting

Like gypsies nicknaming the stars

And even as the unemployed soldier walks his melancholy path

And bleeds tears for conflict – we pray for the past to return.

But persist through pedantic expressions

From the palpable flatterer in white,

Living the tale of the pale physicians;

Who got their meals by selling miracles.

You feel the silence and sorrow to never entertain the glory of hope

You will do penance to angry Gods and

Wear your scars like the old lion

Cleave your heart, mar the flesh

To bask and howl in moonlight awhile

Then

Could I heal to hear

The voice of God

Vox Dei

Whispered blessings

Now only in my dreams

Clean and clear

Mending souls

Pure and perfect

O, the government of heaven has heard

And I know now

In this light natural now supernatural

That we will do nothing but melt our spirits together,

To solder up the holes in our souls

And ponder on

Goodbyes to Rose

Who goes sleeping face upward in the fields all night.

She will hear the din of a thousand baleful cries

Turn and turn to laughter and praises

And glide along the silver sea of identical monuments

This happy regiment,

These sweet soldiers of stone

O Lord do you see this meat of mortality

That has transformed and passed on

These human hands that will go to the madmen there

To those sunbathing beggars and lazy hedge-keepers

Sleeping face upwards in the fields all night

Will continue to post slide shows.  This one is the latest.

In fields of lavender

A simple place

Where lavender never grew before

You

once more

In lavender

Beckoning

And calling to me

How we spoke

And laughed

My spirit rose with yours

And floated above and

Among the green 

And purple hue

With you

In the lavender

But now a chilling wind touched your face

Time to go and leave this peaceful place

And soon and all at once adieu

In the flurry of the heather hew

For just one moment more

I knew with you

In the lavender

Now spring returns 

And I return in my dreams to this place we met

With purple green and flaming sunset

You I fear will see

In memories only with me

To stand again with her

Never

And now forever

In the lavender

After much time away, I’ve settled on WordPress.  More new pieces to follow and some older essays and poetry will be uploaded in time.  That’s all for now.

The Honorable Henry B. Gonzalez (D. TX) Courtesy The Center For American History

Curses!  Yet again my efforts to expand my compassionate and even syrupy post on frenemies that was sure to be the last word on the subject and indeed a cracking good read are thwarted by the events now known as Black Sunday and the continuing inherent idiocy of Wall Street.

There was a time and not so long ago that the government would have stepped in and demanded accountability.  60,000 workers worldwide now find that they are out of a job or in danger of losing their job with their retirement assets also in jeopardy.  And today, the DOW was down 500 points in response the fallout of the Lehman Brothers debacle and the Merrill Lynch sell off.  A day of reckoning to be sure and a day for the history books.

When I was wee I had the great good luck of serving as a congressional intern for the Honorable Henry B. Gonzalez (D. TX.)

Gonzalez was selected to chair the Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs Committee in 1989.  Under his leadership, the committee was able to enact several pieces of legislation favoring consumer groups, such as improved credit measures for small businesses, federal flood insurance reform, and increased accountability of the Federal Reserve.  In addition, Gonzalez pushed for strengthening anti-money laundering laws and harsher punishment for bank fraud and other financial crimes.

Throughout the 1980s, Gonzalez warned against the potential dangers of federal deregulation of the savings and loan industry and we see that in evidence today. After his prediction became a reality, he was given the task of structuring the bailout legislation. He accepted the assignment on the condition that those responsible, both in the private sector and their legislative supporters, be publicly recognized for their wrongdoing. His efforts resulted in pressure from a number of his fellow Democrats to resign, but Gonzalez remained true to his cause. In 1991 he was successful in reforming the federal deposit insurance system. During his tenure as chairman, Gonzalez earned a reputation for being a fair leader who allowed equitable participation in the creation of bills while reinforcing his legacy of championing the cause of ordinary people affected by legislation he oversaw.  Gonzalez gained national attention once again in 1992, when he investigated loans made from President George Bush and his colleague James Baker to Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.  His investigation showed the $3 billion loans supposedly designed to support Iraqi agricultural projects were actually spent for weapons development.  Gonzalez went on to oppose military action in the Persian Gulf during the 1991 Gulf War.  He even called for Bush’s impeachment on the grounds that through his previous financial support of Hussein the president had eliminated any chance of finding a peaceful resolution.

During his long congressional career, Gonzalez received numerous honors, including the National Alliance to End Homelessness Award, the Texas Civic Leadership Award, the B’Nai B’Rith National Humanitarian Award, the 1992 National Rural Housing Legislator of the Year and the 1994 Profile in Courage Award from the John F. Kennedy Foundation.

We won’t see his like for a long time to come I’m afraid.  We are stuck with a system that continues to spiral and heads in the sand at this point would be a disaster.  I can’t even bring myself to comment further.  But wait, I’ll try…  The Bush administration has been reckless in its handling of the finance industry.  The recent bail out of Bear Stearns and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should never have happened.  We need more regulation full stop.  It is the lack of regulation that caused this in the first place.   The capital rules are far too lax, and they still are. They may have made sense if you assumed perfectly liquid and smoothly functioning markets, but that is like saying a roof does not leak when it is sunny and mild.  That’s just bad business.  The Dick Fulds of the industry should now be hung up by their Buster Browns or Prada (s) as the case may be.

This being an election year I don’t trust a candidate like McCain who continues to tout the strength of the economy in the face of what is happening today.  Indeed,  shouldn’t the ability to send an email be at the very least the lowest common denominator for world leader?  I ask you.  Nevertheless, this development will test both candidates mettle to produce some real solutions.  After the lessons of the Great Depression have we learned nothing?

I know that if the old man were alive today he would have fallen out of his chair.

Tropical Storm Ike 2:00pm Courtesy Accuweather

• Sabine Pass, La.: 86 mph
• Freeport, Texas: 87 mph
• Port Arthur, Texas: 95 mph
• Lake Charles, La.: 77 mph
• Huntsville, Texas: 58 mph

The strength of the storm and the damage it has caused prevented firefighters from reaching multiple fires burning in Galveston and Houston.Power is out along the Gulf Coast. CNN reported that 1.8 million customers of CenterPoint Energy in metropolitan Houston are without power, while the Louisiana Public Service Commission reports that more than 100,000 customers are without electricity, including some customers who lost power during Gustav.A total of 2.9 million people had lost power from Ike at some point Friday into Saturday. It could be weeks before power is restored in all areas.Over a million people evacuated the Gulf Coast before Ike made landfall and the authorities estimated that more than 100,000 people throughout the region, including 24,000 in Galveston, had disregarded mandatory evacuation orders.Damage estimates according to the Houston Chronicle will top 18 billion dollars.

Waves from Ike crash against the memorial of the 1900 hurricane Courtesy Houston Chronicle

Hurricane Ike - 7:30 PM EDT Courtesy Accuweather

That storm surge will be much greater and catastrophic in destruction than where the shelf has a sharper drop off.

That’s one reason.  Another reason is in this case parts of the Houston area could see CAT 4 style storm surge because the land is low lying (bayou wetland areas) and indeed at a lower elevation than at seaside.  In addition, coastal communities south of the Houston area down the coast will not receive as much of a punch from the wind as from the eye landfall area and the Northeast Quadrant.  The eye is roughly 75 miles wide at present.

Hurricane Ike 10:45 PM EDT Courtesy NOAA GOES

Oh the catchy title is just that but the warning is not.  Galveston and the Houston metro area look to take a direct hit.  This is the 100 year storm and the ghostly reincarnation of the great storm of 1900.  Current weather data predicts that Ike will increase in strength to a CAT 3 (Winds 111-130 mph) and possibly a CAT 4 (Winds 131-155 mph) by landfall.

Why is this different than Gustav?  Gustav was also a big storm but it was also moving at a pretty good clip as a result of an Atlantic high nudging it to landfall.  Again, keep in mind that the real devastation comes from storm surge (not unlike a tsunami in many respects) and deluge and with a slow moving storm like Ike, the effect could be catastrophic.  Ike is 700 miles wide with sustained winds at 100 mph with higher gusts.

The storm wall in Galveston is 17 feet high.  The expected storm surge from this monster is 22 feet.  The National Weather Service in Galveston issued the warning that anyone left on the island at landfall will be in danger of losing their life.  Galveston will be inundated.  Indeed the geography of the Galveston- Houston Metro area include the shipping channel that should a storm of a CAT4 or 5 hit, the loss of life could exceed 1.5 million souls.  Governor Perry, in his press conference today was matter of fact in his tone that there will be substantial damage with Ike and that infrastructure will be compromised.  That’s a nice was of saying, no water, no power and no emergency services.

Cruise Cam – Live Web Cam with view of Galveston BayStrand Cam – Live Web Cam with view of the Strand on Galveston IslandSurfSide Cam – Web Cam from Texas Department of Public Safety

According to Accuweather, the circulation of Ike is causing water levels to rise 1-3 feet across the entire Gulf Coast from South Florida to Texas. Parts of southern Louisiana will have a 3- to 5-foot water rise with tropical storm conditions through tonight and tomorrow. From 2-4 inches of rain is expected along the immediate coastline of Louisiana overnight. Seas in the central Gulf of Mexico are around 20 to 30 feet, while seas in the western Gulf of Mexico are 10-15 feet.

Ike is still being steered by a strong upper-level high that extends across the northern Gulf of Mexico and the Deep South. This ridge should remain in place into Friday and keep Ike on a west-northwesterly course through tonight. Conditions will be somewhat favorable for intensification over the next 24 hours as water temperatures along Ike’s projected track are at least 82 degrees and wind shear remains relatively weak. Ike is a large hurricane with a small central core, and strong winds extend far away from the eye. Ike’s pressure remains very low for a Category 2 hurricane. This is due to the fact Ike is a very large storm with energy spread out over a huge distance. If these winds can contract, Ike may increase to Category 3 strength tomorrow. The latest results from the intensity forecast models on Ike do not have Ike reaching category 3 strength before landfall. Since intensity forecasting is very difficult, Accuweather says it will continue to monitor the pressure and wind within this big hurricane. Because Ike is such a large storm, tropical storm and hurricane conditions will occur well away from the actual center upon landfall. This will be especially true north and east of where the center comes ashore.

The best estimate right now is for landfall somewhere between Matagorda Bay and Galveston, Texas. Nonetheless, a devastating storm surge is expected for more than 100 miles east of landfall. East of the landfall a storm surge up to 12 to 20 feet can occur with some of the back bays perhaps having a higher storm surge. One should not focus on an exact landfall location at this time, and all interests along the western Gulf Coast should monitor the progress of Ike closely.

After landfall, Ike will begin to move more north and then northeast as it gets caught up in the westerlies. A rather rapid increase in forward speed likely. By Sunday morning the remnant tropical rainstorm center should be over northwest Arkansas and move quickly northeast through the middle Mississippi Valley during the day Sunday.

Damage Potential - Courtesy IMAP Weather.com