Environmentally Speaking

Am I wrong to think that with our advanced technology and ingenuity that we could do something about this?  Tons of debris from the tsunami in Japan is adrift in the Pacific Ocean and heading for Hawaii (and elsewhere, one would assume since there is no exit route from the ocean).  Maybe I am a total idiot (it's possible), but couldn't we send some barges out there to at least try to gather some of it up?  I realize we're talking about tons of debris, but come on.  Can't Al Gore afford to charter a boat to go out there and do something?

And this is completely separate from the giant trash island that we also have in the Pacific.  What if all the money spent on the PR and advocacy side of various environmental groups was instead spent on actually solving problems?  I would gladly give money to clean up this trash, I will not give money to pay for Al Gore's speaking tour on a private jet to lecture us all on our energy consumption.

Occupy Wall Street

Watch this.  It's interesting -- frightening and hilarious at times, too -- but also very interesting.

Is It Just Me?

Or does something seem a little off about this?  Michelle Obama visited the Secret Service headquarters and talks about how much she appreciates the work that they do (and I'm sure she does), but this is what she says:

"Sasha will come in, it's like, 'You took Scott!'" Mrs. Obama said. "Malia's like, 'You took Scott? That's not fair!' And then I'll say the same thing to Barack. It's like, 'Why did you get Beth?' It's dinner table conversation." 

"Why did you get Beth?"  Maybe because Beth's boss at the Secret Service thought she'd be a better fit for the assignment with Barack.  She's talking about these highly-trained men and women as though they're the Obamas' house slaves (how's that for post-racial?).

This is a unique view into the First Lady's mindset.  She believes she's complimenting them and in her own way, she is.  But this is how the First Family thinks about all the perks that come with being in the White House.  The lavish trips abroad, the separate flights to Martha's Vineyard, the bartering over Secret Service agents, and on and on ... Marie Antoinette was more low-key than this.