Caring for Eden, A Community Discussion on Drilling for Gas in the Valley

Caring for Eden 

A Community Discussion on Drilling for Gas in the Valley

Seven Generations will hold a community discussion 

regarding the proposed exploration and harvesting of natural gas in Bergton, VA

 the North Western part of Rockingham County.

Date:  Thursday, June 3, 2010

Time:  7:00pm - 8:30pm

Location: Court Square Theater

61 Graham Street

Harrisonburg, VA

View Map and Get Directions

We will begin the program with a short version of the documentary Split Estate, 

and will follow with a question and answer session involving all attendees.

The purpose of this event is to examine the potential benefits, 

the potential risks, 

and how to best move forward as an informed Valley Community.

Good Information is Vital for good decisions... 

Informed Community Participation is Vital for Good Government. 

Good Government is Vital to Our Shared Future.

The oil crisis in the Gulf of Mexico serves as a stark reminder 

that we must consider carefully how our actions today will affect 

the next Seven Generations

I look forward to seeing you,

Lowell Fulk

For information call 540-820-2592 or email lowellfulk@activist.com

Click here for the Facebook event page

THE TEA PARTY’S INCONVENIENT TRUTHS

Pssst….don’t look now but the Administration’s policies are working

We all know the genesis of the current Tea Party Movement and how it came to be, or at least the version they would have you believe to be true.

According to the Teabagger crowd, after watching the Federal Government abuse the poor helpless taxpayer for far too long, true American Patriots decided enough is enough and organized a grassroots movement to stand up to a government that had run roughshod for far too long. Their mantra became ‘take our country’ back from a socialist administration and a Democrat-controlled congress that were leading this country to ruin.

Now of course, the ‘Teabagger’ version of the movement’s start ignores some very fundamental and troubling realities, such as:

• Out of control federal spending and growing budget deficits had been going on for eight years under a Republican congress andPresident (who was also white), and these Bush deficits will account for the most of the projected deficits going forward. So where was the Tea Party then, when the real problem was started?
• The administration to blame for the endless abuse of the long-suffering taxpayers, and that was running the country into the ground, had been in power a mere six weeks when the Tea Party rose up in self-righteous indignation. Just how did Obama accomplish so much in such a short time?

The rest of the story

The Strategy of Most CEOs and the Politicians that they Own

In Remembrance of those Who have Served...

MEMORIAL DAY

  

It is the  VETERAN,  not the preacher,   who has given us freedom of religion.  It is the VETERAN,  not the reporter,    who has given us freedom of the press. It is the VETERAN,  not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech.        It is the VETERAN, not the campus organizer, who has given us freedom to assemble.       It is the VETERAN,  not the lawyer, who has given us the right to a fair trial.    It is the VETERAN,  not the politician, Who has given us the right to vote. It is the VETERAN who salutes the Flag,     It is the VETERANwho serves under the Flag,  ETERNAL REST GRANT THEM O LORD,  AND LET PERPETUAL LIGHT  SHINE UPON THEM.

Palin's choice defeated in Idaho GOP battle

In upset, Labrador wins Republican nomination for U.S. House seat

Republicans Eating Their Own...

This is rich.

A Tea Party Republican being outed for an affair by a fellow Republican who used to be her friend. This is absurdity.

And

This is why I say the GOP Left Me.

Does no one in the Republican Party wish to stand for good government anymore? Does no one in the Republican Party care about anything other than manipulation for the sake of power?

It certainly doesn't seem like it.

Tea party favorite Nikki Haley, a Republican candidate for governor whose campaign gained momentum with recent endorsements from Sarah Palin and Jenny Sanford, vehemently denied allegations Monday that she had an inappropriate relationship with a political blogger several years ago.

The claim came from Will Folks, a conservative blogger who previously served as Sanford's spokesman. Folks said the relationship took place in 2007 when he did communications work for Haley, including writing speeches and news releases.

Read the story:

Accident, or Criminal Negligence?

The inspection gaps and poor recordkeeping are the latest in a series of questions raised about the agency's oversight of the offshore oil drilling industry. Members of Congress and President Barack Obama have criticized what they call the cozy relationship between regulators and oil companies and have vowed to reform MMS, which both regulates the industry and collects billions in royalties from it.

Read the article

Click the images for more information.
Thanks to Deep Sea News.com

Don't Drunk Dial FreedomWorks

Pope: Abortion, gay marriage among world's greatest threats

Whew! Thanks Pope for the insight. For a minute there I thought poverty, starvation, pollution, overpopulation, greedy financial institutions and war for oil and resources were a problem. Now I feel better knowing that it's really not all those global things, but the choices of a few (hey, we all know how rampant gay marriage and abortions are) that threaten our "great society."

story

The Republicans are finally Learning what Intelligent People have Known all Along-that the glory-seeking Airhead is a Wingnut

Top GOP Candidates Skip Sarah Palin's Republican Fundraiser

Where Would Jesus Drill?

How bad is our addiction to oil? We were willing to destroy the Gulf of Mexico to feed the habit. We have a right to cheap gasoline don't we?

Religious Institutions Are Ruled By the Morally Bankrupt -- But Should We Be Cheering Religion's Demise?

As we devolve into a commodity culture, in which celebrity, power and money reign, the older, dimming values of another era are being replaced.

It is hard to muster much sympathy over the implosion of the Catholic Church, traditional Protestant denominations or Jewish synagogues. These institutions were passive as the Christian right, which peddles magical thinking and a Jesus-as-warrior philosophy, hijacked the language and iconography of traditional Christianity. They have busied themselves with the boutique activism of the culture wars. They have failed to unequivocally denounce unfettered capitalism, globalization and pre-emptive war.

How Christianity is no longer "Christ-like."

Little Girl Needs Our Prayers and Support

Dear Friends,

Jackie Shenk is a sweet little girl from Broadway who is in the struggle of her life, and she could really use all our prayers and love right now.  

Jackie is undergoing treatment for Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome at U.V.A Medical center.


Please join me and Dianne to let the Shenk Family know that we support them in this time of need.


Here is a note her Dad, Josh sent out this evening: 
"We will be anointing Jackie with oil around 7 pm this evening, this is not last rights at all, its a way of giving jackie up to the Lord and putting her into His hands and under His care more than likley Jackie will be heading into surgery at some point tomorow. Tonight it will be Me and Melody, all Jackies siblings, jackies grandpearents, and her great-grand parents, plus Melodys new boyfriend and my brother Ian and Amy (by phone) and all of you in spirt! Thank you all for all your support!"

Here is a Facebook group set up by her Dad.


Her family is getting worn thin folks.  


Would you please send them your well wishes in care of Josh's Mother? (Jackie's Grandmother)




Jackie Shenk
c/o Ramona Shenk
5532 Green Hill Road
Linville, VA 22834


I know these good people would never think of asking, but I know that spending so much time in Charlottesville would have to be taking a toll on their emotions, but also has a tremendous cost.  I'm asking you to consider tucking a little money into the get well cards for Jackie. 

You could make checks to her Dad, Joshua Shenk with "Get Well Jackie" in the memo line. 


I know you are good and caring people. You've shown me that many times during the past years...


Let's be there for this little girl and her family when they need some friends.


Thank you sincerely,


Lowell and Dianne Fulk




UPDATE:
A very good man in our community (Rockingham County) has offered to hold a chicken BBQ to raise funds for Jackie's family.  He understands very well.  


He will provide the equipment and use his employees to do the work, and has a ready market so no one will have to stand on street corners with coolers.  


Will you help me pay for the chicken and charcoal so that all the proceeds can be donated? 


If you can help, send me an email to lowellfulk@activist.com

Don't Go Near the Water -- Johnny Cash

Why the Media Ignored the Nashville Flood

As you may have heard, torrential downpours in the southeast flooded the Tennessee capital of Nashville over the weekend, lifting the Cumberland River 13 feet above flood stage, causing an estimated $1 billion in damage, and killing more than 30 people. It could wind up being one of the most expensive natural disasters in U.S. history.

Or, on second thought, maybe you didn't hear. With two other "disasters" dominating the headlines—the Times Square bombing attempt and the Gulf oil spill—the national media seems to largely to have ignored the plight of Music City since the flood waters began inundating its streets on Sunday.

story

NRA Supports Terrorists "Rights"

Terrorists who want to buy guns have friends on Capitol Hill

Apparently Terrorists are too dangerous to fly on planes, but not too dangerous to buy weapons. Lovely logic.

And the Downward Spiral of the GOP Continues...

Sarah Palin Says The Lesson From Oil Spill Is To Not Trust Foreigners

Apparently this idiot male-wanna-be has forgotten the Exxon Valdez incident in her back yard. But maybe she was too busy studying foreign policy by watching the Russians from "right over my border," or gutting moose, or slaughtering wolves...to have noticed the spill.

Another Politician that Just Doesn't Get It

Congressman Gene Taylor (D-Miss.) Compares Gulf Coast Oil Spill To 'Chocolate Milk,' Says It Will 'Break Up Naturally'

Sort of makes you wonder how much Big Oil has contributed to his campaign....

Bush-Era Regulators Downplayed Risks Of BP's Oil Rig

In the wake of the growing environmental catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico, BP is being blamed for discounting the potential for a massive oil spill and underestimating its effects.

But the federal agency tasked with oversight of offshore oil drilling may be even more responsible for understating the impact of a spill in the environmentally-sensitive area.

In a 2007 environmental impact statement for the Western and Central Planning Area Sales, which includes the Macondo Prospect where the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded on April 20, the Interior Department's Minerals Management Service downplayed the potential for environmental damage.

story

Problems were known, had been studied...

The more we learn about the years leading up to the oil drilling catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico, a very troubling picture is beginning to take form...

A 1999 report commissioned by the federal agency that oversees offshore drilling suggests failures of underwater blowout preventers designed to stop oil spills like the massive one threatening the Gulf Coast were far from unknown, the chairwoman of a key Senate panel said Friday.

Read more:

Minerals Management Service website

Science group: Climate science 'witch hunt' underway in Virginia

"Cooch" is at it again, somebody needs to stop this freak. How much taxpayer money is he wasting on promoting his extremist agenda and keeping himself in the limelight?

So much for fiscal responsibility.

McDonnell making Conservatives Uneasy...

After eight years of Democratic rule, Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell was seen by conservatives as a political savior, someone who would restore the state's right-leaning policies and traditions. But less than four months into his term, many conservatives have grown disenchanted, even as he has made direct appeals to causes they care about.

I am cautious, yet optimistic.  Could it possibly be that we are finally rounding the corner toward bipartisan cooperation in an effort to solve issues we together hold as important?

I certainly hope this is the case, and I will support Governor McDonnell if his efforts in this regard are sincere...

Read the article here

Department of Interior Agency Said No to Backup Safety Valve, in 2003

Safety Backup Device Was Recommended...

Highlights of this article in the Wall Street Journal:

U.S. regulators have considered mandating the use of remote-control acoustic switches or other back-up equipment at least since 2000.

The industry argued against the acoustic systems.

By 2003, U.S. regulators decided remote-controlled safeguards needed more study. A report commissioned by the Minerals Management Service said "acoustic systems are not recommended because they tend to be very costly."

An acoustic trigger costs about $500,000, industry officials said. The Deepwater Horizon had a replacement cost of about $560 million, and BP says it is spending $6 million a day to battle the oil spill.

The Brazilian government began urging the use of the remote-control equipment in 2007, after an extensive overhaul of its safety rules following a fire aboard an oil platform killed 11 people, said Raphael Moura, head of safety division at Brazil's National Petroleum Agency. "Our concern is both safety and the environment," he said.

Cucinelli 'Covers Up'

Attorney General Ken Cucinelli's latest act of head shaking stupidity? Presenting pins to his staff which pictured a new Virginia State seal in which Virtus' breast -- exposed in the seal which has served our state without controversy for 234 years -- is covered by a armored breast plate.

My only question is when are my fellow Virginians going to raise their voice in protest to the time-wasting, tax revenue-squandering, and downright embarrassing agenda AG Cucinelli is imposing on our beautiful state? Virginian's are not anti-gay homophobes, we are not Dixie-obsessed nuts who think slavery was good and not worth mentioning during Confederate History Month, and we are not prudes or uneducated yokels who are embarrassed by classical art. Shouldn't we act like we don't want to be recognized as such?

Here's a link to the full story on HuffingtonPost: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/01/virginia-seal-breast-picture_n_559673.html