From Where I Stand: Step 104

NO IMAGES WHILE
I'M BLOGGING
IN NEW YORK CITY

First, I want to acknowledge I am writing this blog on my iMac, and after years of frustration working on different brands of personal computers it was good to return last year to the user friendly company that passed Microsoft this week as the top technology company by stock market value. It seems like only a few years since my friends warmed me I should stop playing on my Apple and get a real computer. Many said that Apple with its proprietary system and expensive price points would collapse and die. While Steve Jobs and the national economy may face ill health the company he founded definitely does not.

Questions unfolded this week regarding the timeliness of the government response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. While there has been a lot of finger pointing about how responsible BP is and what responsibility needs to be leveled upon Haliburton and other interests in the drilling operation, the latest is to find fault with those who regulated the process. Some have even gone so far as to draw parallels between how Washington bureaucrats handled this disaster and the way the Bush bureaucrats handled Katrina. Although there seems to be better personnel involved in the Obama team, I'll await further investigation to assess the qualityh of their response.

As I am writing this without the help of my volleyball friends, since I am attending my daughter's graduation from law school while they're batting the ball around on the other end of the continent, I lack confidence in assessing how well the mud is doing in capping the well. I am pretty certain however there will be lots of late night jokes about muddying the water.

It is surprising to me how long it has taken the federal government to respond to the Arizona law governing procedures for questioning individuals about their citizenship. Apparently, when a law claims to help reduce or eliminate illegal immigration there needs to be evidence it violates civil rights or hampers law enforcement before the federal government will take action. Fortunately, the director of the Police Executive Research Forum, Chuck Wexler was able to get a number of police chiefs to explain to Attorney General Eric Holder how the law would inhibit law enforcement.

Finally, after months of anticipation Simon Cowell stepped down as a judge on the show he originated, American Idol. He'll continue to produce the show and the recording artists it generates. Oh yes, Lee DeWyze edged out Crystal Bowersox as the winner of the ninth season. I predict they will both have glorious careers.

And last but not least as noted earlier and in yesterday's blog the most important news is Heather is graduating law school. Here to I predict a glorious career.