Chris Estes

If all goes as planned I will once again be taking the journey Home to Alabama – Again! – after election day. For the past few weeks I have been working with the Humane Society Legislative Fund in Michigan’s 9th Congressional District.

On October 20th HSLF Announced their independent expenditure:

The Humane Society Legislative Fund launched its first television advertisements today opposing the reelection of U.S. Rep. Joe Knollenberg in Michigan’s 9th Congressional District. The ads will air over the next two weeks on Detroit broadcast television and Oakland County cable. The group has also sent mailings to thousands of animal welfare supporters and is canvassing door-to-door across the district.

Read More and watch the TV AD running in MI.

My piece of the pie involves the door-to-door canvass. Being outside in the cold Michigan weather sure makes this southern boy’s going home much more exciting.  I look forward to getting home and thawing out before AL’s weather turns colder.

So have you caught wind of Congress rolling back the ban on off-shore drilling?  Probably not with the current state of the Economy.  Well on Tuesday the House passed legislation, 236-189, to ease the ban on off-shore drilling.  I would like to point out that the legislative branch of government in the US is dominated by the Democratic Party.  To find out more about the legislative action read the NY Times Article. Write your Congressman and your Senators tell them what you think.

The main point of this is to talk about the atrocity in progress.

I happen to live in Alabama one of those Gulf States that already has off-shore drilling wells.  In fact as a kid, growing up in Central, Alabama, I remember playing baseball next to natural gas pumps.  So drilling and natural resource exploitation is nothing new to me.  In fact the oil and gas industry indirectly put the roof over my head and food in my belly.  Many of my friends, family, and neighbors do not agree with me and think I should be burned at the stake.  They don’t agree with me for the same reason why America’s wealthiest still think the economy isn’t in a state of turmoil.  It isn’t in their best interest!

Tonight on ABC News Nightline. The headline story was talking about Drilling for oil in the Gulf of Maine.  In short, and what I got out of the story, drilling shouldn’t apply to Maine and the cost of heating oil is going through the roof.

Look I get it, people are hurting for money, me too. I worked on Wall Street and not many days past the mortgage fall out.  But, is drilling really the answer?  I can tell you, NO it isn’t.  It’s only temporarily fixes the problem for somebody else to fix.  Exactly what the people before US said.  As a youngster that will be paying for the mistakes of the Ronald Reagan and Cold War Era… Lets Fix the problem! Don’t put a Band-Aid on it.

But again this isn’t my purpose of this post.

My purpose is to address the drilling location issue.  Why should we drill in the Southern Coast?  Because people in Maine Fish?  Lobster?  Why should we drill of the coast of Georgia?  (I really dont have anything).

I try to be objective about the issue.  But, it is hard to be when someone is trying to put an oil rig in your back yard.  When I see pictures of Maine I “aww” at the beauty.  When I hear the name Georgia I think sweet tea, hospitality, and golf.  My images of the south are just as beautiful as anything Maine has to offer!  Have you ever seen the fall leaves in the Southern Appalachians?  The sunset from Key West, FL?  Have you ever had Shrimp?

When the logging industry finally gets to clear cut the last few acres of natural forest to build the houses to pay for the people moving from Maine to the South for work… “There goes the fall leaves”.  What will thousands of tourist come to enjoy a romantic sunset on their honeymoon on the piers of Key West think when they find out that the green poof is from the Oil Refinery in Louisiana. Or, how about finishing off the demise of the shrimping industry with toxic waste from oil rigs raising our dependency on Vietnamese seafood?

My interpretation may be a bit extreme…  My point isn’t.  In fact it is simple. Who wants an oil rig in their back yard?

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The people of the south don’t really want the rigs any more than anyone else. The fact is we need them because you tell us we do and American Survival rest upon our shoulders.  People from the fishing grounds of Maine to California beaches people are counting on our sacrafice.

So did you catch the latest round of news about the California train crash?

It is official that text messaging is being banned on California Metrolink Trains while on duty.  According to a report by the California Public Utilities Commission that the train Engineer, Frank Sanchez, sent text messages while on the job.  As of now there is no indication whether Sanchez sent messages around the time of the accident or not.

The only way to guarantee the ban will be followed is to bar cell phones and messaging devices.  But in the event of communication system failure a Cellphone may serve as a good back up.  I know having a cellphone has saved my hide a time or two.  There are other security issues that have been addressed over time such as the Columbine Shootings and other emergency situations.  In a decision public safety should be the number 1 priority.  This will be interesting to watch to see how other industry and businesses react.

Engineer in Deadly LA Train Crash Was Texting

From the Washington Post

Less than a week after one of the worst train accidents in recent U.S. history, California officials today issued a temporary order banning train operators from using cell phones on duty.

Federal transportation authorities say the engineer of a Southern California commuter train who ran a red light and slammed into a freight train last Friday — killing 25 people and injuring more than 130 others — was text-messaging on his cell phone. The engineer, Robert Sanchez, who died in the crash, never hit his brakes. [Ed. note: Corrected from original post that identified Sanchez as the conductor.]

Officials say they are investigating a report from a TV station, CBS2, that two 14-year-old boys exchanged messages with the engineer moments before the accident.

Today, the California Public Utilities Commission unanimously passed an emergency order to ban the use of cell phones and other personal electronic devices while operating a train.

The National Transportation Safety Board in Washington said today that “records … indicate that the engineer had sent and received text messages on the day of the accident, including some while he was on duty.”

Federal investigators also are looking into whether Sanchez’s back-to-back, split-shift workdays on the Metrolink commuter system, which began before dawn and ended at 9 p.m., could have played a role in the crash.

I am home at last. After a three days and a some what leisurely drive I made it 1,000 miles. I made several stops and was in no big hurry.

When I initially set out I was going to drive all 16 hours! I quickly learned that was a good plan. I made it as far as Hershey, PA were I spent the better part of Wednesday touring the Hershey sites. Sometime during the afternoon I set out to complete the rest of the trip. I made it as far as Roanoke, VA before I could go no further! I wasn’t going to let a 16 hour drive drag out for a fourth day. So, I made the bulk and rest of the trip today.

I learned several things on this trip. I realized I probably wouldn’t make a good over-the-road truck driver and I don’t know how my parents ever took us on road trips. I remember as a kid driving from Alabama to the Grand Canyon. That must have been torture.

I made it home safe and in one piece. The roads are safer and the local economies between Jersey City, NJ and Birmingham, AL should be stimulated. I think I stopped and bought candy and burger king in every city in-between. So as I made a tradition with my previous post I leave you with a little coming home music.

Go Ahead Turn it up now!