The Mobile Register has a brilliant investigative report today on lax federal regulation of oil rig moorings.  Reporters Ben Raines and Bill Finch found that some types of rigs are not even required to withstand hurricane force winds.

First, some background - there are two types of rigs in the Gulf of Mexico: fixed and mobile.  Fixed rigs are permanently attached to the sea floor, and they are typically used in water up to 1500 feet.  Mobile rigs are designed to move from one place to another, even though some of them spent their whole working lives in one spot.  Some mobile rigs use extendable legs to stand on the botton, while others float in the water, and are held in place by anchors.  The rigs with legs are called jackups, while the floaters can either be semi-submersibles or tension leg platforms.  (See Wikipedia for a short introduction to various rig types.)  

Throughout this crisis, officials of the Mineral Management Service have claimed that offshore oil platforms were designed to withstand a Category 5 hurricane, but the Mobile Register found that was not true.  

More ...

 (from the Des Moines Register)

Like many other midwestern states, Iowa recently passed a law restricting sales of the decongestant pseudoepehedrine, which is also a precursor of methamphetamine.  The new law has been very effective, with a 75% drop in meth lab seizures since it was passed.  However, Walmart has thrown its weight behind efforts to pass a weaker federal law that would also preempt any state regulations.  

Iowa Senator Grassley is so angry at the changes that he has withdrawn as a sponsor of the law.  The law's two primary sponsors are Jim Talent (R-MO) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA).

Iowa's Democratic Governor, Tom Vilsack, announced that he would sign an executive order to restore voting rights to ex-felons who have served their sentence and completed parole.  
(from the Iowa City Press-Citizen)

Last year, about 600 felons had their rights restored by appealing to the state parole board, but that is a lengthy, time-consuming process.  Gov. Vilsack predicted that the new order may effect as many as 500 - 600 people per month.

It's noteworthy that this order had bi-partisan support, and its only prominent critic was the very conservative Speaker of the House.  

Only four other states have lifetime prohibitions of voting for ex-felons: Florida, Alabama, Kentucky and Virginia.  This Boston Globe article describes recent efforts to restore voting rights for felons nationwide.  

Ex-felons face many other restrictions, in addtion to loss of voting rights.  For example, convicted drug users may not receive food stamps or college tuition assistance.  A report from Stateline.org has more on the Bush administration's policies.

I'd like to write about tsunami reconstruction efforts in Sri Lanka.  A friend went over there to supervise work for an NGO, and he is disgusted by the Sri Lankan government's corruption, and its complete indifference to its own people's suffering.  He says that aid supplies have been embargoed in the port, and the government won't release them until the US pays duties on them.  Note that they are charging duties on supplies that were donated for FREE!  IMHO this is simply corruption at work.  

His main expertise is in constrution, and his last assignment was building 5000 houses in Afghanistan, so he has some experience at working in difficult conditions.  Right now, many thousands of people are living in cardboard boxes, while construction supplies are stacked up in the port.  To me, this country seems like a good candidate for regime change.

My friend is charmed by the regular people that he has met.  He is staying with a local family, and the children call him "UncleAlSir", and bring him tea in the morning.