B.O. ~ He said, “Yes we can…”

Like most Americans who proudly watched our nation’s man of hope and change deliver his election winning speech in Chicago back in November 2008—I’m disappointed.

We all remember the tear streaked faces of his most ardent supporters who braved the chilly November night in Grant Park.

They stood shoulder to shoulder to hear a newly elected Mr. Obama give the first of his now famous 10th-grade level speeches—a speech that he punctuated with his trademarked line, “Yes, we can.”

A “line” the crowd repeated like hypnotized drones for the entire seventeen minute speech.

While Americans have reluctantly had to accept the excuses for his failures over the last eighteen months--the BP blowout has been Mr. Obama’s first real world test at leading this nation out of a disaster occurring on his watch.

This catastrophe and lack of response has proven there’s no leadership at the top, no leadership in the middle and no substance in the agency staffing at the bottom of the Obama administration.

The administration’s critical failure has been “since day one” when it was discovered that a mandated piece of equipment—an oil fire boom—was not owned by the government agency responsible for a quick response.

When the leadership of the responsible agencies finally surfaced eight days after the deaths of eleven men—they made the rounds on the Sunday morning news shows in a media mop up of their mess by reassuring the nation they’d been on top of the event “since day one.”

You’ll notice that since that weekend of them eating their feet on television--which was followed by a couple of brief appearances on the Gulf Coast—the DHS, DOI and EPA heads have been relatively unseen—swept into the closet to allow the President to appear and “take control.”

That control, or lack of it, was readily apparent in the speech delivered from the Oval Office last Tuesday night.

In using the Oval Office, a setting reserved to deliver only the most important of messages to the American people—Obama chose to redeliver his politically motivated eco-agenda and eliminated any leadership or solutions in his message to those in peril along the Gulf Coast.

His words were as empty as his suit.

In the weeks prior to the BP blowout, Mr. Obama admitted to our nation that the responsible agencies under his leadership, were incapable of responding to a terrorist driven nuclear attack of any size—and the BP oil spill reaffirmed our national level of preparedness to be weak at best.

What Obama’s proven good at is convening divisive committees who argue party lines, filing lawsuits, and layering bureaucracy so thick that nothing—I repeat NOTHING--can be done without pain to save our Gulf Coast.

In my opinion—it’s by design—to allow him to push his Obama “green economy” and his unaffordable cap-and-trade bill—-in other words, his agenda.

What better way to win the hearts and minds of the Grant Park “Yes-we-can” Club, than with pictures of oily beaches, oily dead birds and the oil-broken lives of ruined people?

The real leadership in the Gulf has proven to be the locals—just watch Governor Bobby Jindal or Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nunguesser during their interviews—they have a plan, they want to act and instead of helping lead—the President and his henchmen and women are in the way, purposely.

I wonder if those same tear streaked faces of the Grant Park group are watching the heartbreak along the Gulf Coast from their air conditioned living rooms—where are the Hollywood stars, the Jesse’s, the Al’s, the Oprah’s—they’ve been incredibly silent since April 20th.

Perhaps the multitudes who stood there in Grant Park and were so moved to mimic the chant, have realized what many of us knew before they voted for him—when it comes to leading us and our nation, through this or any other major disaster—“No, he can’t.”

BP’s Botched Plan

The proof is in the “pudding”--or oil--as the case is this time.

Unless someone can prove otherwise--BP never considered developing a deep water spill response plan for the Gulf of Mexico; but instead spent their money buying off politicians and finding new ways to locate and suck the Black Gold out of the Gulf.

That’s because BP’s six-hundred page response plan reads like a collegiate attempt at a term paper that was never going to be read--by anyone.

The document, an apparent copy of a plan meant for colder waters mentions sea lions, walruses, and seals as critters of concern in the Gulf of Mexico—uh, hello Dr. Geologist CEO…Ms. Director of MMS…is anyone familiar with “who lived” in the Gulf?

Whoever wrote (or copied) BP’s contingency plan also chose to list MSRC as the company’s 24/7 “primary equipment provider” for the Gulf of Mexico.

I checked out the company’s Japanese website and didn’t find the oil spill response section, maybe you can. Here’s the URL. http://www.msrc.com/Equipment.htm .

Also, missing from the voluminous document—any mention of meteorlogical or oceanographic data--or information about tracking underwater plumes.

Plumes which, according to BP CEO Tony Hayward, a University of Edinburgh educated PH.D (Geology), with Honorary Doctorates from the University of Edinburgh, Aston University and the University of Birmingham—says don’t exist.

Amazingly, BP did manage to have a section for their corporate media spokespeople. They’re instructed to never make "promises that property, ecology, or anything else will be restored to normal.”

Exactly the opposite of what the million dollar ad campaign featuring an apologetic Mr. Hayward is saying the company will do, which is to make things as they once were.

Just like Tony Hayward’s feeble attempts at minimizing the spill and his continued empty promises, the remainder of the response plan consists blank forms and is not worth the paper it is written on.

But then again most corporate contingency plans are basically "fantasy documents” which is why BP is now on plan “W” of theirs—they’re “Winging it.”

BP claims to have hired 20,000 paid responders to facilitate the clean up, yet work crews are small. Work rules are rumored to be--work fifteen minutes, rest fifteen minutes--to avoid the overheating themselves in their protective gear.

I can only imagine the $12 per hour workers spend a good part of their day texting friends and family while complaining of the heat with the extra time they have.

In the meantime, the majority of the Louisiana shrimping fleet sits idle, even though their crews are ready to work. Those fishermen who left over a month ago are considered the fortunate ones—they’re working.

Unfortunately, they have no ability to return to port because their hulls can't be decontaminated—and they’ve yet to receive a paycheck from BP.

Something smells fishy in the Gulf….

There have been a couple of reports circulating on the world wide web that add an air of suspicion to this disaster.

One, which originally appeared in the Huffington Post, says Goldman Sachs shorted Transocean stock just days before the explosion. In it there’s a quote from Goldman employee Fabian Tourre’s email to his girlfriend.

"One oil rig goes down and we're going to be rolling in dough," Mr. Tourre wrote. "Suck it, fishies and birdies!"

http://pesn.com/2010/05/05/9501645_No_joke--Goldman_Sachs_shorted_TransOcean/

The other report, in the U.K. telegraph reported that BP CEO Tony Hayward sold $2.8million (USD) in BP stock one month before the explosion.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/oilandgas/7804922/BP-chief-Tony-Hayward-sold-shares-weeks-before-oil-spill.html

While BP chose to make no “genuine” disaster/contingency plan, FEMA has.

"Emergency preparations in dealing with the expanding oil menace are now being made for cities and towns from Corpus Christi , Texas , to Houston , New Orleans , Gulfport , Mobile , Pensacola , Tampa-St.Petersburg-Clearwater, Sarasota-Bradenton, Naples , and Key West.”

“Some 36 FEMA-funded contracts between cities, towns, and counties and emergency workers are due to be invoked within days, if not hours, according to WMR's FEMA sources."

"There are plans to evacuate people with respiratory problems, especially those among the retired senior population along the west coast of Florida, before officials begin burning surface oil as it begins to near the coastline.”

The entire FEMA release can be found at the link below and like my prior blogs, you’ll do best to cut and paste the URLs into your browser or emails to your friends.

http://www.resourceinvestor.com/News/2010/5/Pages/The-Coverup--BPs-Crude-Politics-and-the-Looming-Environmental-MegaDisaster.aspx

There’s a major threat looming for inland towns and cities.

Just because you live inland, don’t think for a minute BP’s disaster won’t reach you.

The FEMA plan goes on to say, “With hurricane season in effect, there is a potential for ocean oil to be picked up by hurricane-driven rains and dropped into fresh water lakes and rivers, far from the ocean, thus adding to the pollution of water supplies and eco-systems."

BP claims it can have a relief well drilled by mid-August thus stopping the flow once the well is capped, but it’s now projected we’ll be dealing with oil in the Gulf through the fall—and the clean-up will take decades.

With Florida boasting more exposed shoreline and inland waterways than anywhere else in the southeast, BP’s oil will have a greater chance to work its way far into the state’s unique environments thus polluting the Gulf, the bays, rivers, lakes and possibly even the Everglades.

We're about to pay for BP’s lack of planning and years of profits because of this spill and that may include another round of declining property values.

Property values in Grand Isle, Louisiana have dropped 30% thanks to the oil washing up on the beaches; it can’t bode much better for us in Florida either.

“Now’s a good time to check and make sure you have…”

Those are the words used by many dive-masters aboard countless dive boats prior to leaving the docks for a day of SCUBA diving. The gist is to get divers to check their dive bags and equipment before the dock lines are cast to insure they’re prepared for a day of diving once they’re out at sea.

“…a mask, a snorkel, two fins—otherwise you’ll swim in circles...”

All joking aside, the call-out of an item list is done to prompt divers into running their checklists and to physically inspect their gear—and that of their dive buddy, too.

Following checklists and being responsible for another is not limited to hobbyists like SCUBA divers.

During hurricane season we need to establish a plan, and have some semblance of an idea as to what we’ll do if the wind blows and the waters rise.

We owe it to ourselves, our families and for those who are so inspired--to our neighbors—after all, one tenant of the good book is to “be thy brother’s keeper”.

When I co-authored, “What to Do til The Cavalry Comes” with Thomas Van Hare in 2006, our intent was to reduce the chance of revisiting the heartbreaking scenes of New Orleans post hurricane Katrina.

The visions of Americans lined up in the streets, as well as those seen floating in the toxic mix of the storm’s flood waters still haunt us to this day.

Three years after we published “What to Do…”, another preparedness guide rose from the wreckage of southern Louisiana. Its title is “Survival: How a Culture of Preparedness Can Save You and Your Family from Disasters”, authored by Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré (U.S. Army, ret).

The Lt. General’s guide is written in what I consider to be “pure Honoré” style. For the uninitiated his wording may be harsh truth; but as he relates to preparedness, the Lt. General’s beliefs are congruent to ours and follow this basic understanding:

“The U.S. had a Culture of Preparedness during the 1960s, when every home, government agency and institution did something to prepare in the event of a nuclear attack from the former Soviet bloc. Once that threat was all but gone, we abandoned our readiness.”-- Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré (U.S. Army, ret)

What he means

In the 1960s when the threat was a nuclear attack; schools were civil defense shelters, students were drilled on “duck and cover” and the skills of survival were engrained in us.

Back then, home builders offered underground bomb bunkers as an option in my South Florida neighborhood—an area that had its own Nike missile base established to defend against the Soviet missiles pointed towards the U.S. during the Kennedy era.

Families stocked canned goods, Sterno, candles, bleach and other supplies at the ready in their homes. We relied on each other in a time when there was more of a sense of community--and of “being American”—after all, we were being led by the generation that was born of the “greatest generation”.

FEMA was not considered part of a personal preparedness plan and in fact did not exist as it does in its current role today.

The thought process was if you were ready for “the Big One”, you were ready for just about anything and being basically prepared meant you had half the battle won.

The same holds true today

“One of the harshest lessons learned from recent disasters, especially Katrina, is that you are your own first responder.”-- Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré (U.S. Army, ret)

I’m not one to wait in line on a good day. I’ve been known to leave restaurants when there’s a wait for a table, and I plan my grocery shopping for mid-week to avoid the weekend rush.

The joke I make amongst my friends in my “preparedness circle” is that I have everything I need, except for fresh limes and mint—two ingredients needed for mojitos and rum-n-cokes.

I’m not advocating that a hurricane is a time to party, but once my home is secured and the choice of “stay or evacuate” has been made; I sit back and relax—while the lines at the grocery store and Home Depot grow!

To me, the only lines that are worse than those before a disaster are the FEMA lines for the “free” food, water and ice afterwards.

The realities of today make it necessary for those who are capable--even on the smallest scale—to do what they can to prepare their family for a disaster—be it natural or man-made, hurricane or terrorism.

Remember, you’re not only preparing for the event, you’re preparing for the days and weeks afterwards.

Hurricane season began June 1st—the dock lines have been cast--“Now’s a good time to check and make sure you have...” before you find yourself “…swimming in circles.”

Thirty days oy vey, enough already!!!

Thirty days since the initial blowout of BP's Deepwater Horizons oil rig and the words and actions of big oil can not be more diametrically opposed.

It’s become pretty evident that BP has been “allowed” to attempt to regain control of their prized oil well as multiple leaks have pumped a consistent and otherwise unabated flow of goo that is now said to be worse than originally stated.

Who’d have thought that a company like BP would ever underestimate the scope of this disaster? After all BP is the company who said they’d pay the claims of impacted fishermen—and then asked those same fishermen to sign legally worded indemnity waivers before giving them jobs stringing oil booms in a feeble attempt to save their fishing grounds and livelihoods.

While BP bears the brunt of the responsibility in their failure in operating the rig, others also have dirty oil on their hands. Litigators for Halliburton, Trans Ocean, as well as BP, continue to file cases in court that attempt to do nothing more than limit their liabilities.

These lawsuits, along with…

1) BP finally admitting that the oil spill may be ten times worse than originally stated.
2) BP admitting the chemical dispersants they used in the Gulf are chemicals banned for use in Britain, and
3) BP’s continued refusal to allow scientists and engineers into the area to assess the real damage.

…give me the impression of a cover-up!

Why, after thirty days of BP failing to gain control of their “black-gold mine”, has there been no active American boycott of BP gasoline or their products?

Are American’s so disillusioned with the country’s current political climate and economic crisis that they’ve grown weary?

Have we become so jaded that American Idol or Lindsey Lohan’s possible new jail outfit are more important than the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history?

After all it’s only the potential loss of 30% of our seafood supply and the possible eradication of the breeding grounds for multiple species we supposedly cohabitate with on this planet.

As I write this, BP has finally decided that funnels and straws won’t work to stop the oil geysers and they’re going to attempt filling the well with drilling mud and concrete on Sunday, May 23rd--with the caveat that this is something “never attempted at this depth before”.

BP could have attempted this 29 days ago; but God forbid BP should lose their damned well, and the millions of dollars they’ve put into its research and development.

In comparison, at stake are the livelihoods and the economy of millions of American’s residing along America’s Gulf coast —not to mention one of the world’s most treasured coral reef systems!

But then, who needs beaches, coral reefs and fishermen when there’s always Disney World and the other theme parks to visit in central Florida— people will buy BP’s gas to get there, right?

Let’s hope not!

It’s time for Americans to speak to BP in the only language big oil understands--in dollars.

It’s time to avoid at all costs; the eco-friendly green logo’d BP gas stations recognized in the U.S. nationwide, as well their ARCO and am/pm stores of the American west.

I’d also suggest the next time you change your oil, choosing another brand other than Castrol, it’s a BP product as well.

Also, depending on where you are in the world, you may find BP Connect, Wild Bean Café and in Germany, Aral service stations and retail outlets which BP boasts is Germany’s number three fast food retailer behind Burger King and McDonalds.

Perhaps BP will get the message if the sound of Americans closing their wallets and purses is louder than the implosion and destruction of their well along with the billion barrels in oil reserves the black-gold represented to BP’s profits.

Thirty days is long enough. Turn off the flow of oil BP, before America wakes up and turns off the flow of cash!

BP = Bungled Performance!

Here's Shep Smith's FOX News commentary from May 14th
http://www.shepard-smith.net/video/fr/bpcommentary.mpg

Bad Planning, Bad Performance, it’s not just BP...

...our government is also guilty!

The world has watched the environmental horror as the BP oil geyser has continued to gush black gold into the Gulf of Mexico since April 20th.

Of course as in any major disaster, there was the initial shock of “it” happening as heroic crews rushed to the scene in search of survivors and to douse the raging inferno—much like we saw on 9/11.

We then witnessed BP’s limp corporate response, most likely due to them wrangling with the “financial liability issues” and waiting to see what the U.S. government was going to do.

BP’s response—finger pointing and denial of ownership of the oil rig and blowout preventor—finger pointing which continued into hearings on Capitol Hill on May 11th.

Of course the Obama administration responded—and much like past governmental responses it was too little, too late--with the administration rolling out it’s department heads a little over a week after the event to deliver a reiterated and very prepared quote.

Homeland Security chief, Janet Napolitano told Meet the Press that The White House knew "from day one that this could be a catastrophic failure,” and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar emphasized the same talking point on the same Sunday as a guest on State of the Union saying, “From day one there was the presumption of worst-case scenario”.

“From day one…” It kind of has that, “You’re doing a fine job, Brownie,” ring to it, doesn’t it?

If in fact, “from day one” our leadership “presumed” or “knew” of the magnitude of the BP oil spill, why wasn’t the "In-Situ Burn" plan--a plan produced by federal agencies in 1994 that calls for responding to a major oil spill in the Gulf with the immediate use of fire booms—activated?

Because once again, just like on 9/11, post hurricanes Andrew, Katrina and Ike, the recent flooding in Tennessee and just about every other disaster to have hit the U.S.--the federal government was caught flat-footed—unprepared--and that’s the proven truth to our nation’s ability to respond to disasters.

Americans have been told to prepare and to be self-sufficient for at least 72 hours since the 9/11 terrorist attacks; yet the government has failed to respond within that time frame to any disaster since--either natural or man-made.

The agency responsible for responding to the BP oil spill did not have a federally required fire boom and it took U.S. officials eight days to locate the sole unit in the country before getting it delivered and conducting a test burn in the Gulf.

Former NOAA oil spill response coordinator Ron Gouguet --who helped draft the 1994 plan --said that officials had pre-approval for burning. "The whole reason the plan was created was so we could pull the trigger right away."

Our leadership, with their multi-paged preparedness plans replete with hierarchy and flow charts has proven their ability to do nothing more than create barriers to immediate and direct response in the event of any disaster.

Perhaps in the early days of the BP blowout, the DHS chief and Interior Secretary could have FedEx’d the printed federal oil spill response plan to Louisiana so as to be laid upon the Gulf—allowing the document to soak up the first few thousand gallons of oil that escaped to the surface.

The reality is, is disaster response requires money--and there is none.

My statement was reinforced on May 11th--just three weeks before the beginning of what some experts are predicting to be an active hurricane season--with a preemptive warning of sorts from FEMA.

It seems that this year's numerous disasters have tapped the Federal Emergency Management Agency dry.
The House agreed March 24 to give the agency an extra $5.1 billion for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30. But the Senate has failed to act--despite recent flooding in Tennessee.
Sixteen states experienced a combined 18 disasters this year before the House voted to give FEMA the extra funding.

Since then, major disasters have been declared for winter storms or flooding in Maine, New Hampshire, West Virginia, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Minnesota, North Dakota, Nebraska, Connecticut, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and Maryland.

FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate said while visiting Tennessee on last Thursday that "there's an urgency" to approving the funding and said the agency could respond to emergencies as they occur but couldn't help rebuild afterward.

Record flooding in early May in Nashville killed at least 20 people and caused an estimated $1.5 billion in damage.
"We are not going to be delayed in helping individuals in the emergency response costs," Fugate said. "But as this flood is going to show, we already have almost $1 billion in outstanding projects from previous disasters that we cannot move forward on."

FEMA is still paying for disasters dating to Hurricane Katrina in 2005. For example, the agency is still rebuilding schools in New Orleans, and an arbitration panel ruled in January that the agency must pay $474 million to rebuild Charity Hospital.

"While we can meet the immediate needs of survivors in these declared disasters, and we can support state and local government in the immediate response, we do not have the ability now to fund permanent work," Fugate said. "And that's going to be a key factor in this recovery as well as previous disasters going all the way back to Katrina."

Based on the historical data and supported by the fact that it’s not a matter of “if” but “when” a disaster will strike, today more than ever, if you’re not putting a personal preparedness plan in place, you’re “BP”.

FEMA’s recent statements practically insure there’s no tractor trailers full of water, food, blue tarps, generators and all the other “free” things hurricane victims seem to love to stand in line for while awaiting deployment at first light after landfall.

While the government has a written preparedness plan, part of that plan is an initial assessment or as I called it earlier, the hand-wringing. The secondary phase of the plan includes amassing equipment and personnel, and that takes money—and we’ve been warned softly—there’s none left, but it might be in the pipeline to being approved.

Now would be a good time to check and make sure you have what your family needs and begin preparing yourselves for this year’s hurricane season.

My suggestion is to plan on surviving without federal help for a minimum of seven days-- or more. That’s depending on how long it takes the Secretarys, Assistant Secretarys, Chiefs and their staff to realize that real people with real lives are hanging in the balance of FEMA’s checkbook and their ability to make a decesion on when they’ll deploy after the winds and tides subside.

For those of you who wish to plan and would like suggestions, our preparedness guide, What To Do til the Cavalry Comes: A Family Guide to Preparedness in 21st Century America is online--FREE. No credit card or personal info required.

What To Do… is endorsed by Mississippi’s Lt. Governor, Phil Bryant and co-authored with three-time Pentagon appointee, Thomas Van Hare. Each chapter is formatted with suggestions and checklists to help you establish a personal family preparedness plan that will work for you.

Email me, Matt@mattlawrencebooks.com and I’ll send you the direct link so you can read it online, full screen, in it’s entirity—thanks to a service provided by fREADo.com.

The power of a child….Elian, 10 years later

Ten years ago I “cheated death”. I beat a leaky appendix—a condition I ignored for months.

On April 18th, 2000 at the behest of two friends--a treasure hunter in the Florida Keys and a gal pal in Texas--I went to the hospital to get “checked out”, and the emergency room nurse decided I needed to “check-in”.

I was--as I lay curled up in the fetal position on a gurney in the E.R. -- in need of emergency surgery.

That brings me to ten years ago today and the early morning hours of April 22nd.

I was prone on my couch, recovering from the surgery and had passed out watching television in a pain killer-induced half sleep the night before; leaving my television to default to the test pattern of Miami’s WSVN in the early morning hours.

There was a sudden flash of light as the station went “live” with hysterical screaming. I groggily awoke and struggled to focus on the television screen.

Through the fog of the pain killers, and tear gas disbursed at the scene on the screen, I managed to see a van driven by a uniformed City of Miami police officer and a determined looking female running towards that vehicle with a horrified child pulled tightly to her chest—“they” were taking Elian Gonzalez from his Miami home!

The raid was one that was promised locally as “would not happen”-- yet it did, as ordered by then Attorney General Janet Reno. It was conducted by an estimated one hundred thirty INS personnel, and an elite team of eight from the U.S. Border Patrol’s BORTAC unit.

Shocked by what I’d witnessed, I spent the remainder of the day listening to the media rhetoric from both sides of the Elian debate, and the hate speech that spewed from Americans about “Cuban rafters”.

During the early 1990’s, I’d flown numerous missions with groups like Brothers to the Rescue, Freedom Flight International and the Cuban-American Pilots Association. I’d also spent many hours at the House of Transit on Stock Island, near Key West, in those days.

The hate that streamed from the television on April 22, 2000 in no way reflected what I experienced as we flew those flights in search of families fleeing Fidel’s island of Hell— I only saw families in search of the freedoms most Americans take for granted.

For years after--as a bar stool Captain in my favorite Key West bars-- I’d told the tales of what I’d witnessed from my perch a mere fifty feet above the ocean’s surface, safely inside the cockpit of my crew’s Piper Apache 235. We were N13BR, “los Gringos al rescate”—an American flight- rescue team.

For years, my friends told me, “Matt, you gotta write a book!” and for years I always promised I would.

I started my first on April 22nd, 2000.

It was the confluence of a tap on my shoulder from the man upstairs, the realization of having had another brush with death, and the betrayal of a little boy that set me on my path to writing.

It wasn’t as if I had to create stories, I just had to write them. I’d seen them develop on the waves below me with my own eyes. I’d heard them from those rescued and living at the House of Transit.

Within a few days of Elian’s forceful removal from his Miami relatives home, I e-mailed my first pages to my Texas gal pal prompting her to ask me where “the darkness” had come from.

“The truth”, I told her.

Those very pages became Chapter 9 in my first book, “Dying to Get Here: A Story of Coming to America", a fictionalized version of a Cuban family’s harrowing escape to freedom that was published in 2004 as an attempt at explaining the plight of balseros.

Five years later, with the help of my co-author, three-time Pentagon appointee Thomas Van Hare, we published, “BETRAYAL: Clinton, Castro & The Cuban Five”, a non-fiction compilation of the evidence surrounding the shoot down of the Brothers to the Rescue planes in 1996.

Amazingly, I now realize, both books were born of one President’s administration and its failure to navigate the churning waters between Havana and Miami.

The “Cuban Crisis” would be one of many Clinton would be remembered for; and most likely cost Al Gore a major block of voters in Miami’s Cuban exile community—one that had supported and then like Elian, found itself betrayed by his predecessor.

Ten years after “cheating death” and Elian, I’ve been able to publish three books.

Each and every year since, I’ve been able to thank my friends-- the treasure hunter and my gal pal from Texas--for the sage advice they gave me ten years ago—I credit them with saving my life—and in part, my writing career.

Unfortunately, I’ve never been able to thank Elian Gonzalez for his part in inspiring me to write, and from the looks of the recent photos of him in Cuba, it’s doubtful I’ll ever have the opportunity to do so.

The deeper the wetter

....the wetter the better!

Key West officials plan to sink the 522-foot transport ship known as the General Hoyt S. Vandenberg on May 27th . The artificial reef will be located in 140 feet of water, seven miles off Key West!

The ship began its career as the USS Gen. Harry Taylor in October 1943, when it was launched in Richmond, Calif. The Navy acquired the ship in 1944 and used it to move troops and supplies between San Francisco and island military bases in the western Pacific Ocean.

With its 100-foot-tall towering super structure and 522-foot-long hull, the Vanderberg will be accessible to divers of all skill levels.s

Video cameras have been installed aboard the Vandenberg to allow unprecidented access to all that wish to “go down with the ship”! Visit http://www.sinkthevandenberg.com/ for more information.

Matt Lawrence