Inertia

While the UN debates, Gaddafi's forces are making inroads against the rebels heading towards Benghazi. How did it turn things around? Airpower. I am not in favor of a no-fly zone because it creates too many opportunities for civilian casualties. However, the UN and US inactivity in this matter is almost as bad.

Meanwhile the Egyptians aren't doing too well. One of the protesters was interviewed on NPR yesterday. He had been recently caught and tortured by the Egyptian Army.

Things in Bahrain are worsening with the introduction of Saudi troops to quell the unrest. There is a very strong potential for this situation to create a regional conflict and cause Saudi Arabia to experience the unrest they have thus far been able to avoid.

I have several Facebook "friends" who added me as a friend due to my views on the 2nd and 10th Amendments. Many of these people are of the belief that the situation in Japan is being hyped and is not nearly as dangerous as being portrayed. One otherwise rational lady feels justified in this belief because the Japanese are so adept at nuclear power.

I don't doubt the Japanese technicians and their abilities. But Mother Nature just sent them the biggest earthquake they have ever seen along with multiple aftershocks and tsunamis. My money in on Mother Nature, the minute we start to think we can control the earth she ups the ante.

Now the Japanese, who have been in denial, are finally admitting the meltdown is not really a 4 but more like a 6 (Three Mile Island) and may become a 7 (Chernobyl). Seventeen US sailors were exposed to radiation during relief efforts and had to be decontaminated. The USS Ronald Reagan and other warships pulled back when they detected radiation 160km off the coast of Japan. The French have pulled out their reporters. The Germans, no slouches in the engineering and technical fields, have shutdown 7 of their 17 reactors. Yup, nothing to worry about here.

The prevailing winds tend to blow west to east, meaning radioactive particles could be blown to the western coasts of the US and Canada. Citizens were already making a run on iodide tablets, a known prophylaxis for radiation exposure. California residents were the most alarmed but their state emergency management agency assured citizens they were did not need to purchase the iodide. Unfortunately for the director, the US Surgeon General was in California and contradicted the state director by telling residents they SHOULD buy iodide tablets.

In the midst of all of this excitement, gas prices have risen on aver .4o cents since last month. In Ohio, the governor just unveiled his budget plan which means a reduction in state subsidies for public transportation. Those cuts translates into reduced routes for mass transit in the larger cities (the rural areas will still be some state subsidy).

It is unrealistic to expect any president to be able to have answers for all of the above. I suspect carving out a solution to any single issue requires political maneuvering and bi-partisan support that just isn't possible with today's Congress and Senate. Perhaps that's why the President is out playing golf.