Tuesday, April 30, 2013

.10 cent Superfecta Pays $288,981.92 WHAT!? A .10cent Super Got The Whole Superfecta Pool!? Whatta Mean Did I Get It? Are You Fucking Stupid Or Something?!

The Huge Payouts Are In The Super's + Tri's When The Favorites Run Out Of The Money
Even Charlie Chan Would Have A Tough Time Putting Together A Winning Superfecta At The Kentucky Derby!




THE IRON MAN OF HORSERACING - THE GREAT RUSSELL BAZE











I FOUND THE ABOVE PRINTS AND PHOTOS FOR SALE OVER AT ELEGANT HORSE PICTURES, MAN, THEY HAVE SOME PRETTY SWEET STUFF, WOULDN'T MIND OWNING A COUPLE OF THESE MYSELF. IF I CASH SOME DECENT TICKETS AT THE DERBY SATURDAY, I'LL BUY THE ONE THAT IS SIGNED BY THE 28 DIFFERENT KENTUCKY DERBY WINNING JOCKEYS - A STEAL FOR $1,100!

JOEL ROSARIO IS ABOARD "ORB" FOR THE DERBY. ROSARIO IS A FIXTURE ON THE CALIFORNIA CIRCUIT BUT IS A HIRED GUN WHEN TRAINERS AND OWNERS WANT A FIVE STAR JOCKEY TO NAVIGATE THE RACECOURSE ON THEIR MOUNTS FOR THE BIG MONEY RACES. HELL, ROSARIO JUST WON THE BIGGEST PURSE IN HORSERACING [10 MILLION! HEE, HEE THOSE RICH SHEIKHS THEY HAVE ALL KINDS OF MONEY!] ABOARD ANIMAL KINGDOM THE END OF MARCH.

ROSARIO GRADUATED THE LAFFIT PINCAY JR. JOCKEY SCHOOL. PINCAY WAS ONE OF THE GREATEST JOCKEYS IN THE WORLD AND HAS SERVED AS A MODEL FOR ALL JOCKEYS TO CONFORM TO. READ MORE ABOUT PINCAY HERE, HERE.

WELL, ROSARIO IS "ON FIRE". IS IT TOO MUCH FOR A 28 YEAR OLD TO HANDLE? PROBABLY NOT, IT JUST GOES WITH THE TERRITORY AT THIS ALTITUDE. THE KENTUCKY DERBY IS #1 ABOUT GREAT HORSES YET SOMETIMES GREAT JOCKEYS ARE EVEN MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE HORSES THEY ARE ON. IT IS THE HUMAN SKILL AND INSTINCT THAT WILL DRIVE THESE HORSES THROUGH THEIR RACE. THE JOCKEYS JUST NEED THE HORSE TO RESPOND IN THE RIGHT WAY AT THE RIGHT TIME. IT IS THIS SKILL SET THAT WILL DETERMINE WHICH HORSE/JOCKEY COMBINATION IS CROWNED CHAMPION

SO IF YOU WANT TO BET THE CHALK FAVORITE, IT WILL PROBABLY BE ORB. HE'LL GO OFF AT 5/2 -7/2. ORB IS A GREAT HORSE, BUT HE CAN BE BEAT. MORE TOMMOROW. 

Monday, April 29, 2013

Fuck Syria! I'm Worrried About Who Is Going To Draw The Rail In The Kentucky Derby!

They'll Draw Post Positions Wednesday Night @ 5pm
I'M SICK OF HEARING FROM THE LIKES OF LINDSEY GRAHAM AND JOHN MCCAIN ON HOW WE SHOULD ATTACK SYRIA AND ALL THEIR WAR TALK. WE DON'T HAVE MONEY TO MAN THE CONTROL TOWERS AT AIRPORTS YET SOMEHOW WE HAVE BILLIONS TO WAGE WAR WHEN IT MAKES GOOD POLITICAL RHETORIC? THESE WASHINGTON IDIOTS ARE JUST THAT - IDIOTS! LET THE SYRIANS MURDER THEMSELVES UNTIL JUST TWO ARE LEFT AND THEN THEY CAN SHOOT EACH OTHER THEN IT WILL BE ALL OVER. YOU CAN BET IF THE CIA IS PASSING BACKPACKS FULL OF CASH -MILLIONS IN CASH- OVER TO KARZAI IN BUTTFUCKASTAN THEY ARE DOING THE SAME IN BUTTFUCK SYRIA! FUCK THESE ASSHOLES! HEY CIA, DROP OFF A COUPLE OF BACKPACKS FULL OF UNCLE BENNYS TO ME! HELL, I'LL SAVE YOU THE TRIP, JUST TELL ME WHERE I CAN PICK UP MY MILLIONS AND I'M THERE!

I'M WORRIED ABOUT WHO WILL BE DRAWING THE RAIL AT THE KENTUCKY DERBY 139 THIS YEAR. THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA IS FALLING ALL OVER ITSELF ABOUT THE PROSPECT OF ROSIE NAPRAVNIK BEING THE FIRST WOMAN TO WIN THE DERBY. THE POLITICALLY CORRECT REALLY WANT A WOMAN TO WIN THE DERBY TO "PROVE" WOMEN HAVE "ARRIVED". MAKE WAY FOR THE - W-O-M-E-N! ROSIE IS A GREAT JOCKEY AND I'LL BE ROOTING FOR HER - SHE'S BEEN RACING 8 YEARS AND HAS OVER 1,500 WINS.

ROSIE WILL BE RIDING MYLUTE TRAINED BY TOM AMOSS, A SEASONED "SOUTHERN FRIED" TRAINER WHO WOULD LOVE TO TEACH THOSE NEW YORK BOYS "WE DON'T CARE HOW YOU DO IT UP NORTH". YEP, AMOSS WILL HAVE A COUPLE OF TRICKS UP HIS SLEEVE WITH MYLUTE AND HAVING NAPRAVNIK MIGHT BRING HOME A WINNER AT A PRICE - @ LEAST 12:1, MORE LIKE 18:1.
  

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Traitors To America






MY HOPE IS; GEORGE "W." BUSH WILL BE IMPRISONED IN HIS LIBRARY FOR ALL OF ETERNITY.
From left, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, former Vice President Dick Cheney, and former President George W. Bush's daughter Jenna Bush Hager, participate in the singing of "God Bless America" at the dedication of the George W. Bush presidential library on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Thursday, April 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

The Duty To Die

Terry Schiavo Among The Most Politicized Right To Die Cases Ever. Here, It Took Christine Busalacchi's Dad Five Years To Have Her Taken Off Life Support After She Was Severely Brain Damaged In An Auto Accident. Right To Lifers Claimed She Could Follow The Movement Of People With Her Eyes And Attempted Primitive Verbal Responses.. Her Father Won The Right To Remove Her Feeding Tubes And She Was Allowed To Die Saving The State Of Missouri Hundreds Of Thousands Of Dollars In Medical Expenses That Would Have Had To Be Diverted For Her Care For What? So Some Right To Lifer Can Point And Say, "Look, There's Dignity In Every Life!"?

Old People When They Are Cognitively Or Physically Spent Have The Right, No, The DUTY, To Die

One Little Injection Can End It All, What Would You Do? Would You Say, " Okay Doc, Hit Me Up!"?
I HAVE A FRIEND OF MINE WHO'S ONLY 53 OVER IN A NURSING HOME RECOVERING FROM A SHATTERED PELVIS HE GOT WHEN HE SLIPPED ON THE ICE, THE END OF DECEMBER. HE JUST GETTING TO THE POINT WHERE HE'S WALKING AROUND WITH THE AID OF A WALKER AND IN 4 OR 5 MORE MONTHS HE SHOULD BE AS GOOD AS NEW EXCEPT HE'LL HAVE A PRONOUNCED LIMP.

THE NURSING HOME HE'S AT IS FILLED WITH A LOT OF SENIORS ON THEIR WAY OUT. YOU KNOW GOD'S WAITING ROOM. THEY COULD NEVER AGAIN BE SELF SUFFICIENT EITHER THEIR BODIES ARE TOO FEEBLE OR THEIR MINDS ARE GONE. WHY DON'T WE JUST PUT THESE SENIORS ON AN ICEBERG AND LET THE CURRENTS TAKE THEM OUT TO SEA? WELL, IT JUST WOULD NOT BE RIGHT.

WHEN I WATCH THE JOKE THEY CALL THE NIGHTLY NEWS ON THE MAJOR NETWORKS ALL OF THE ADS APPEARING ARE TARGETED TO SENIOR WITH THEIR VARIOUS HEALTH PROBLEMS, YOU KNOW ARTHRITIS, COPD, DRY EYES. BUT, THE ONE THAT REALLY GETS ME ARE THE ALZHEIMERS DRUGS THEY ARE FOISTING ON THE PUBLIC. IT SEEMS THE ADS ARE TARGETING NOT THE SUFFERERS OF THE DISEASE BUT RATHER, THE IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBERS MAKING THEM BELIEVE THAT THEIR IS HOPE THAT THIS "MAGIC PILL" WILL BRING BACK THE COGNITIVE FUNCTIONING OF THEIR ELDERLY FAMILY MEMBER.

Emotional Extortion?
THE RESULTS FROM THESE MEDICINES ARE MEASURED IN BABY STEPS, HOWEVER BIG PHARMA THROUGH THEIR MARKETING CAMPAIGNS SOMEHOW WANT TO LEAD YOU TO BELIEVE THAT THESE MEDICINES WILL RESTORE MENTAL FUNCTIONING TO THAT OF A NEWLY MINTED YALE GRADUATE. TO ME, IT'S SAD TO SEE HOW THESE GREEDY PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES PLAY OFF THE EMOTIONS OF FAMILY MEMBERS IN ORDER TO SELL THEIR EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE PRODUCTS.

MY GRANDMOTHER TOLD ME, "IT'S HELL TO GET OLD" AND SHE WAS 100% RIGHT. MY BUDDY BILL SULLIVAN TOLD ME, "IT'S A GREAT LIFE IF YOU DON'T WEAKEN" AGAIN 100% RIGHT. BUT HERE'S THE DEAL, WHEN OUR BODIES AND MINDS GO, DO WE HAVE A RIGHT TO BE TAKEN CARE OF UNTIL THE PHYSICAL BODY JUST EXPIRES? I DON'T THINK SO. WHY WOULD I WANT TO BE HOUSED IN A NURSING HOME FOR 5, 10, 15, 20+ YEARS JUST SO I COULD EXIST. EXIST THAT'S IT.

LOOK AT ARIEL SHARON IN ISRAEL, THEY'VE KEPT HIM ON LIFE SUPPORT SINCE HE STROKED OUT IN 2005. I MEAN WHAT'S THE POINT? SURE HE WAS A GREAT MAN, A GREAT LEADER AND ALL THAT SHIT BUT LOOK AT THE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS THAT HAVE BEEN SPENT TREATING HIM LIKE HE WAS SOME SORT OF GOD. HE'S JUST A MAN, HE STROKED OUT. PULL THE PLUG ALREADY. WHAT'S THE POINT OF KEEPING SOMEONE LIKE THAT ALIVE? THIS HAPPENED TO MY UNCLE, HE STROKED OUT OR SOME SHIT, MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY COULD HAVE KEPT HIM ALIVE FOR YEARS, THEY PULLED THE PLUG AND NOW HE'S IN VALHALLA OR WHEREVER HE'D IMAGINED HE'D BE - GOOD FOR HIM. 

SO THERE YOU HAVE IT, NURSING HOMES CRAMMED WITH ELDERLY PEOPLE NO LONGER ABLE TO TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES, MANY WITH THEIR MINDS SHOT. THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT DAY IT IS, THEY DON'T RECOGNIZE THEIR OWN SONS OR DAUGHTERS. AT THIS POINT SHOULDN'T WE SAY, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH - STOP THROWING GOOD MONEY AFTER BAD AND TERMINATE THESE NO LONGER USEFUL LIVES? IF IT WAS ME, I WOULD WANT MY LIFE TERMINATED. I WOULD NEVER KNOW THE DIFFERENCE.

WHEN I READ RECENTLT THAT ADULT DIAPERS WERE OUTSELLING BABY DIAPERS IN JAPAN FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER I ALSO REALIZED THAT JAPAN IS A DEAD SOCIETY, UNABLE TO REPLENISH ITSELF WITH NEW YOUNGER GENERATIONS BECAUSE THEY BAN IMMIGRATION TO KEEP THEIR BLOODLINE PURE. SURE, THEY HAVE GUEST WORKERS, BUT THEY CANNOT BECOME JAPANESE CITIZENS. SO WHAT IS TO HAPPEN TO THIS EXTREMELY LARGE POPULATION OF SENIOR CITIZENS IN JAPAN? WILL THEY EEK OUT THEIR FINAL DAYS JUST EXISTING WAREHOUSED IN SOME NURSING HOME IN SOME REMOTE PREFECTURE? WHAT HAPPENS TO THIS HUGE GENERATION OF ELDERLY NO LONGER ABLE TO CARE FOR THEMSELVES? SHOULD THEY BE SANITARILY DISPOSED OF OR SHOULD BILLION OF YEN BE SPENT AND BILLIONS OF MAN HOURS BE EXPENDED FOR THEIR CARE?

THIS IS THE QUESTION THAT FACES US ALL.    

She Devil Enroute To US? Cuff Her When She Gets Off The Plane

Mother Of Boston Bomber Needs To Be Locked Up PERMANENTLY
THE SHE DEVIL MONSTER Zubeidat Tsarnaeva MOTHER OF THE BOSTON BOMBERS IS SUPPOSEDLY MAKING HER WAY TO THE UNITED STATES. I HOPE THEY CUFF HER THE MINUTE SHE STEPS OFF THE PLANE AND MAKE HER LIFE AN ABSOLUTE HELL, A LIVING NIGHTMARE. THIS SMARMY, LOUDMOUTH BABE HAS AN ATTITUDE PROBLEM AND SHE NEEDS TO BE BROUGHT BACK TO REALITY. PUT HER IN A CELL BLOCK FULL OF 250 POUND LESBIAN BULL-DYKES DOING HARD TIME, SHE'LL WISH SHE NEVER STEPPED FOOT INTO THE UNITED STATES IN THE FIRST PLACE!

Dipshit Governor Of Texas Rick Perry All Twitterpated Over Editorial Cartoon - What An Asshole!

Original Published In The Sacramento Bee Thursday April 25th 2013

Copy Circulating Internet
REPUBLICAN TRAITORS TO AMERICA LIKE TO TOUT "LOOSE REGULATIONS" OR NO REGULATIONS AT ALL, EVEN IF THIS MEANS..., COSTING LIVES JUST SO THEIR FAT CAT BUSINESS BUDDIES CAN MAKE A FEW EXTRA BUCKS. WHEN THE FERTILIZER PLANT IN WEST, TEXAS BLEW UP, IT TURNS OUT THIS PLANT WAS SO OUT OF COMPLIANCE WITH EXISTING REGULATIONS THAT THE OWNERS SHOULD HAVE THE BEJEEZUZ SUED OUT OF THEM. TO THEM, THE MASSIVE LOSS OF LIFE AND PROPERTY CAN BE CHALKED UP TO, "THE COST OF DOING BUSINESS"! THAT'S WHAT THESE ASSHOLES THINK!

TOUGH TALKING GOVERNOR OF TEXAS AND FIRST CLASS DOUCHEBAG, RICK PERRY, WANTS AN APOLOGY FROM THE PUBLISHER AND WANTS THE EDITORIAL CARTOONIST FIRED. WHAT AN ASSHOLE! YOU SEE, IT IS THE JOB OF THE EDITORIAL BOARD INCLUDING EDITORIAL CARTOONIST TO DRAW ATTENTION TO THE ABSURDITY OF POLITICAL POLICIES ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COSTS PEOPLE THEIR LIVES AS IT DID IN TEXAS.

sacbee.com

This story is taken from Sacbee / -- Root

Rick Perry 'explosion' cartoon published to make a point

Sacramento Bee

Published Thursday, Apr. 25, 2013


Several readers wrote me this morning expressing varying levels of concern about the cartoon depicting Gov. Rick Perry's marketing of Texas' loose regulations, juxtaposed with the explosion of the fertilizer plant in West, Texas.
Their comments ranged from "you are a sick human being" to "insensitive and tasteless." I'm not sure I am clinically qualified to give myself a direct diagnosis, but I am pretty sure I am not a sick human being. Let's explore the question of tastelessness.
The Texas chemical plant had not been inspected by the state of Texas since 2006. That's seven years ago. You may have read in the news that Gov. Perry, during his business recruiting trips to California and Illinois, generally described his state as free from high taxes and burdensome regulation. One of the burdensome regulations he neglected to mention was the fact that his state hadn't really gotten around to checking out that fertilizer plant. Many Texas cities have little or no zoning, resulting in homes being permitted next to sparely inspected businesses that store explosive chemicals.
So when the plant exploded and killed 14 people, people started asking the inevitable questions about whether this tragedy could have been prevented.
Well, we're not going to know that now, exactly, but I doubt that more inspections and better zoning would have hurt.
Gov. Perry's name and the explosion have been linked for several news cycles. I didn't just make this all up. It's out there. There is a rather stunning report about all this on ProPublica, the investigative news website. I invite you to read it.
When I have to come up with these ideas, I can assure you that I am not really deliberately trying to be tasteless. I am not. What I am trying to do is make readers think about an issue in a striking way. I seem to have succeeded in this cartoon, one way or the other.
The question is whether it is tasteless or not.
My answer, respectfully, is that it isn't.
Having said that, what normal person doesn't mourn those poor people fighting the fire and living by the plant? I certainly do. What makes me angry, and, yes, I am driven by anger, is that it could have been prevented. I guess I could have done a toned-down version of the cartoon; I am not sure what that would have been, but I think many readers' objections just stemmed from the fact that I used the explosion as a metaphor, period. The wound is fresh, the hurt still stings.
The Texas governor's campaigning notwithstanding, should I have used the explosion as a vehicle to illustrate my point? I did. I stand by it. Here's why: Many readers said things along the lines of, "Would you have portrayed the severed limbs created by the Boston bomber to make a political point?" Hmm. No. I would not. But I have drawn a faceless Iraq war veteran, wrapped in bandages, wanting to know who had to invade Iraq to save face.
Yes, I got the same kind of reaction.
"Tasteless."
But you know something? I would draw that cartoon again. Wouldn't even think twice about it.
I also drew all the faces of the Newtown massacre children as the new face of the NRA.
"Tasteless."
Same thing. I would draw it again.
The cartoon we're discussing is rather sanitized, honestly. It shows an explosion. It plays off the word "Boom/booming." That's obviously the problem. Would I do it again? Don't know. I knew it was close to the edge, but I went with it, and I don't go with things I can't defend. I'm defending this one because I think that when you have a politician traveling across the country selling a state with low regulatory capacity, that politician also has to be accountable for what happens when that lack of regulation proves to be fatal.
That's exponentially more offensive to me.
My job, as I understand it, is to be provocative. I provoke, you decide. I don't dictate, I put out my opinion along with everyone else. I sign my name. I own it. In my opinion, I could have gone further. Much further.
Does this cartoon disrespect the victims? Their families?
Well, if someone, say a Texas regulator, had picked this up before 2013 but after 2006, maybe I wouldn't have had to draw that cartoon. No victims, no grieving families. So my rather pointed view of all this would be moot.
Gambling with the lives of innocent people is much more offensive to me.
That's way worse than tasteless.
It's reckless.

Editorial Cartoonist Jack Ohman

Jack Ohman Jack Ohman joined The Sacramento Bee in 2013. He previously worked at the Oregonian, the Detroit Free Press and the Columbus Dispatch. His work is syndicated to more than 200 newspapers by Tribune Media Services. Jack has won the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award, the Scripps Foundation Award, the national SPJ Award, the National Headliner Award, the Overseas Press Club Award, and he was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2012 and the Herblock Prize in 2013. He has written and illustrated 10 books, many of them about fly fishing. Jack has three grown children.

Contact Jack at johman@sacbee.com.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/04/25/5372555/rick-perry-explosion-cartoon-published.html#storylink=cpy

Hell, The Year Is Only 4 Months Old But I've Already Selcted 2 Of My Top 10 Websites Of 2013

Self Immolation - The Ultimate Act Of Protest
WASHINGTON'S BLOG IS WHAT JOURNALISM IS SUPPOSED TO BE..., INFORMATIVE, DOUBTING OF THE OFFICIAL LINE, DEEP BACKGROUND, ALWAYS LOOKING FOR ANSWERS TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THE STORY. 5 STARS.

BUSINESS INSIDER A HUGE RESOURCE OF CURRENT EVENTS WITH OFFBEAT TAKES ON EVERYDAY ISSUES. A GREAT PLACE TO HANGOUT AND EXPLORE. 5 STARS. 

Thursday, April 25, 2013

How Whites Took Over America

Hey White Man, We Got The Casinos And Tax Free Cigarettes Now - Who Has The Last Laugh?

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The SS Marine Electric Maritime Disaster

SS Marine Electric

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  (Redirected from Marine Electric)
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Career (USA)
Name:
  • Musgrove Mills (1944–47)
  • Gulfmills (1947–1961)
  • Marine Electric (1961–83)
Owner:
  • U.S. Maritime Commission (1944–47)
  • Gulf Oil Corp. (1947–61)
  • Marine Transport Lines Corp. (1961–83)
Port of registry: Wilmington, Delaware
Builder: Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Chester, Pennsylvania
Yard number: 437
Laid down: 10 January 1944
Launched: 2 May 1944
Completed: 23 May 1944
Identification: Official number: 245675
Fate: Foundered, 12 February 1983
General characteristics
Class & type: Modified Type T2-SE-A1 tanker
Tonnage:
  • As built:
  • 10,448 GRT
  • 16,613 DWT
  • After 1962:
  • 13,757 GRT
  • 25,575 DWT
Length:
  • As built:
  • 523 ft (159 m)
  • After 1962:
  • 605 ft (184 m)
Beam:
  • As built:
  • 68 ft (21 m)
  • After 1962:
  • 75 ft (23 m)
Propulsion: Turbo-electric, 6,000 shp (4,474 kW)
Speed: 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Range: 12,600 nmi (23,300 km; 14,500 mi)
SS Marine Electric, a 605-foot bulk carrier, sank on 12 February 1983, about 30 miles off the coast of Virginia, in 130 feet of water. Thirty-one of the 34 crewmembers were killed; the three survivors endured 90 minutes drifting in the frigid waters of the Atlantic. The wreck resulted in some of the most important maritime reforms in the second half of the 20th century. The tragedy tightened inspection standards, resulted in mandatory survival suits for winter North Atlantic runs, and helped create the now famous Coast Guard rescue swimmer program.

Contents

Ship history

The ship was built by the Sun Shipbuilding and Drydock Company of Chester, Pennsylvania for the U.S. Maritime Commission (contract No. 1770) as a Type T2-SE-A1 tanker, hull number 437. She was laid down on 10 January 1944, launched on 2 May, and delivered on 23 May.[1]
In May 1947, she was sold to the Gulf Oil Corporation and renamed Gulfmills. In May 1961, she was purchased by Marine Transport Lines (MTL), and renamed Marine Electric. The ship was modified by the addition of a new midsection for cargo transport, built at the Bremer Vulkan yard in Bremen, Germany, which was then towed to the Bethlehem Steel Co. yard in East Boston. This extended the ship's length overall from 523 feet (159 m) to 605 feet (184 m), and her tonnage from 10,448 to 13,757 gross register tons (GRT). The work was completed in November 1962.[2] However, the Marine Electric was showing its age, exhibiting corrosion and damage to the hull and other structural components.

Final voyage

The Marine Electric put to sea for her final voyage on 10 February 1983, sailing from Norfolk, Virginia to Somerset, Massachusetts with a cargo of 24,800 tons of granulated coal. The ship sailed through a fierce (and ultimately record-breaking) storm that was gathering.
The Marine Electric neared the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay at about 2:00 a.m. on Thursday, 10 February. She battled 25-foot (7.6-m) waves and winds gusting to more than 55 miles per hour (89 km/h), fighting the storm to reach port with her cargo.
The following day, she was contacted by the United States Coast Guard to turn back to assist a fishing vessel, the Theodora, that was taking on water. The Theodora eventually recovered and proceeded on its westerly course back to Virginia; the Marine Electric turned north to resume its original route.
During the course of the investigation into the ship’s sinking, representatives of MTL theorized that the ship ran aground during her maneuvering to help the Theodora, fatally damaging the hull. They contended that it was this grounding that caused the Marine Electric to sink five hours later.
But Coast Guard investigations, and independent examinations of the wreck, told a different story: the Marine Electric left port in an un-seaworthy condition, with gaping holes in its deck plating and hatch covers. The hatch covers, in particular, posed a problem, since without them the cargo hold could fill with water in the storm and drag the ship under. And it was there that the investigation took a second, dramatic turn.
Investigators discovered that much of the paperwork supporting MTL's declarations that the Marine Electric was seaworthy was faked. Inspection records showed inspections of the hatch covers during periods where they'd in fact been removed from the ship for maintenance; inspections were recorded during periods of time when the ship wasn't even in port. A representative of the hatch covers' manufacturer warned MTL in 1982 that their condition posed a threat to the ship’s seaworthiness. But inspectors never tested them. And yet, the Marine Electric was repeatedly certified as seaworthy.
Part of the problem was that the Coast Guard delegated some of its inspection authority to the American Bureau of Shipping. The ABS is a private, non-profit agency that developed rules, standards and guidelines for ship's hulls. In the wake of the Marine Electric tragedy, questions were raised about how successfully the ABS was exercising the inspection authority delegated to it, as well as about whether the Coast Guard even had the authority to delegate that role. Also there was a conflict of interest in that the inspection fees paid to the ABS were paid by the ship owners.

Aftermath

In the wake of the Marine Electric sinking, The Philadelphia Inquirer assigned two reporters, Tim Dwyer and Robert Frump, to look into old ship catastrophes. In the series, the writers concluded that government programs designed to strengthen the merchant marine had actually kept unsafe ships afloat. Frump later wrote a book, Until the Sea Shall Free Them, about the sinking.
In the wake of the Marine Board report, and the newspaper's investigation, the Coast Guard dramatically changed its inspection and oversight procedures. The Coast Guard report noted that the ABS, in particular, "cannot be considered impartial", and described its failure to notice the critical problems with the ship as negligent. At the same time, the report noted that "the inexperience of the inspectors who went aboard the Marine Electric, and their failure to recognize the safety hazards...raises doubt about the capabilities of the Coast Guard inspectors to enforce the laws and regulations in a satisfactory manner."
While the Coast Guard commandant did not accept all of the recommendations of the Marine Board report, inspections tightened and more than 70 old World War II relics still functioning 40 years after the war were sent to scrap yards. In 2003, Coast Guard Captain Dominic Calicchio was posthumously awarded The Plimsoll Award by Professional Mariner magazine in part because of his role as a member of the Marine Board of Investigation.[3]
Additionally, the Coast Guard required that survival suits be required on all winter North Atlantic runs. Later, as a direct result of the casualties on the Marine Electric, Congress pushed for and the Coast Guard eventually established the now famous Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer program.
Though the safety of sailors at sea improved in the wake of the Marine Electric tragedy, those improvements in safety came at the expense of 31 lives, condemned to a watery grave by poor maintenance and inadequate governmental oversight.

See also

References

  1. ^ Colton, Tim (2011). "Sun Shipbuilding". shipbuildinghistory.com. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  2. ^ "Marine Casualty Report for the SS Marine Electric". U.S. Coast Guard. July 1984. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  3. ^ "Plimsoll Awards History". Professional Mariner. 29 June 2012. Retrieved 16 March 2013.

External links

  • A firsthand account of the wreck by Bob Cusick, one of the surviving crew members
  •  
    Cold Comfort
    By Bob Cusick
    February is the shortest month of the year, it's true. But for me, a few hours in February-on the 12th day, in the year 1983-seemed an eternity. The winter wind, blown by what the weather bureau later classified as "the worst East Coast storm in 40 years," whipped the ocean into a fury. The ship I was on, the Marine Electric, was on its way from Norfolk, Virginia, to a power station in Somerset, Massachusetts, carrying a load of coal. 1, the Marine Electric's Chief Mate, was just shy of my 60th birthday, and had been a seaman since 1941. But in all that time, I had never been on a voyage like this one. Although a snowstorm was brewing when we loaded the vessel just a day and a half earlier, we expected a routine voyage. Neither my 33 shipmates nor I imagined then that we would share the most terrifying experience of our lives.
    The 605-foot Marine Electric, scheduled for dry-docking that spring, had been patched together in 1962 from the bow and stem of a World War H-vintage tanker and a new mid-body built in Germany. Everything on the ship was battened down and secured when I turned in for bed at 2330 hours the previous night. At about 0 1 15 hours, Duty Mate Richard Roberts had noticed that the bow was not rising properly to the seas. First Engineer Michael Price had responded by putting the pumps on to the forward tanks. But the pumps couldn't keep ahead of the water. A worried Captain Philip Corl awoke me at 0230 hours "Come up to the bridge, Mate," he said. "I can't really tell, but I think she's settling by the head." He was right. The ship had evidently fractured or opened up forward.
    Soon it became apparent that the ship was losing her transverse stability: She was taking a starboard roll and not returning upright. Captain Corl gave the orders to prepare to abandon ship. The crew was mustered at the starboard lifeboat, on
    "Cold Comfort" by Bob Cusick Page 2 of 4
    the low side. At 0413 hours, as the ship was taking an even more pronounced list, the captain blew the whistle. We began to lower the boat. The sea was cresting at 20-25 feet. I remember thinking that, with the condition of the wind and sea and the position of the ship, there was only a slight chance of a successful
    launching.
    As we were lowering the lifeboat, the ship--seemingly instantly--rolled right down on her beam's end. I found myself, along with most of the crew, trapped under the deck house, in the dark, 39-degree water.
    Having done much snorkeling since I was a youth, I could hold my breath for long stretches, and to this I attribute my ability to swim out from under the ship while so many could not. When I finally broached the surface of the seas, I was faced with a dim prospect: the night was as dark as pitch, and the icy ocean tumultuous, and the air temperature a mere 29 degrees. I scanned the area and, in the frigid air, was able to make out the shape of the ship's smokestack. It was now almost horizontal, and I could hear the seas slopping against it. I struck out, afraid of being sucked down as the ship continued to sink.
    As I swam, the waves would crest and break, causing me to stop and hold my breath. Each time a wave cleared, I would swim some more until the next one came. I was not really conscious of time, but found myself being focused by some innate survival instinct. In time, I came across a large lifeboat oar and grabbed onto it.
    Then suddenly, something happened that I've never been able to explain-at least not with conventional logic. As I clung to the oar, I felt a line wrap about my right leg, just above the ankle. Holding onto the oar with one hand, I tried to untangle myself from the line, but found that I could not. A strong tension pulled on it. The line felt like a type known as a nine-thread, which is commonly used for heaving lines and attaching life rings. But if the line were attached to a life ring, it would be floating; and in any case, there should be no tension. As it was, though, I felt the line pulling me sideways so strongly that, had I not maintained a strong grip on the oar, I'd have been yanked off of it.








    Page 3 of 4
    "Cold Comfort" by Bob Cusick
    After a long, cold while, I discerned a shape in the distance. No moon or stars shone. The only light was the glow of spindrift on the water's surface, and the shape seemed to be just a slight variation of the darkness that surrounded me. While focusing on the silhouette, I realized that the line was gone from my foot. Still clinging to the oar, I swam toward the shape and, as I approached, I was able to identify it. It was a lifeboat, mostly submerged. It disappeared from sight each time a wave broke over it, until I finally reached the craft. Then, I discovered that it was tom wide open; air tanks were keeping it afloat.
    No sooner had I climbed in and wrapped my legs around a thwart than a wave crashed down, nearly washing me out. When it cleared, the bitter wind hit, and I realized that, if I stayed in the open air, I would soon freeze to death. So I submerged myself in a water-filled portion of the boat, wedged my body under a seat, and waited, praying for daylight and a chance of being rescued.
    The crashing waves took longer to clear from the lifeboat than they did in the open sea. Often, when water inundated the boat, it took so long to flow out that I despaired of being able to ever breathe again. After a time, I became exhausted, and I was increasingly tempted to let go. Just breathe in the water, I thought; the struggle will be over. It will be peaceful.
    At one such a time, as I labored through a retreating wave, the words of a song that I had learned the previous summer came into my mind. The song, by Canadian folk musician Stan Rogers, was inspirational, and particularly fitting. Called "The Mary Ellen Carter," it told the story of a shipwreck. Soon I was shouting out the chorus, "Rise again! Rise again!" singing on through the long, lonely night whenever the icy seas broke away.
    As I alternately sang and held my breath, the bone-chilling waves sweeping me up and washing over me, many thoughts helped keep me from giving up. I recalled that the captain had notified the Coast Guard of our situation as the ship was sinking. I reflected on what I knew of Coast Guard actions in the past, and considered their motto, "you have to go out, but you don't have to come back." And I had faith that they were on the way, and that they would do everything possible to find me.








    Page 4 of 4
    "Cold Comfort" by Bob Cusick
    At about 0700 hours, with the sun just breaking the horizon, the angel of mercy, in the form of the United States Coast Guard Helicopter No. 147 1, appeared overhead. The crew had spotted me, like a grain of sand on a beach (for I had drifted far from the ship), and plucked me from the freezing water. Aboard were the only other survivors: Paul Dewey, Able Seaman, who was also able to swim out from under the ship; and Eugene Kelly, Third Mate, who was on the bridge when the ship rolled over. Also on board were the bodies of several of our Marine Electric shipmates. The helicopter brought us to Peninsula General Hospital in Salisbury, Maryland, where we recovered from the effects of the ordeal. Meanwhile, Coast Guard vessel crews recovered the battered bodies of our remaining shipmates, except for seven that were never found.
    Following that experience, I lived-as I had 25 years previously--on the seacoast, in Scituate, Massachusetts. But storms were never the same for me afterward. Every time a gale threw waves crashing onto the beach, 1, snug in the house, would return in thought to the early hours of 12 February 1983. I'd remember the seas washing over the lifeboat, holding my breath until they 'cleared, knowing how easy it would be to just let go and slip under the water. And I'd remember feeling the guidance of the mysterious line, and being buoyed by a dozen or more inspirational forces, including a song and visions of a Coast Guard rescue.
    I hope that we never take for granted the men and women of the Coast Guard. What they do is among the bravest and most selfless work to which people can dedicate their lives. It is because of their sense of duty and courage that I am here today, and I will never forget it. All of the people who go to sea-whether on Navy or Merchant ships, in fishing boats, yachts, or any other craft-know, too, that the Coast Guard is on call in case of emergency.
    Next time the winds start howling and the seas begin heaping up, I'll be thinking (and perhaps you will, too): Maybe a distress signal will come from a vessel in danger. If so, the crews of the Coast Guard will be out in cutters and helicopters, risking their own safety while doing all they can to save lives in peril.
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