Saturday in the park.

Tonight saw me at another Wilmington Blue Rocks baseball game. One of the charms of minor league baseball is the proximity to the playing field. A treat for a baseball geek like me is to go down toward the bullpen and watch the starting pitcher warm up before the game. From there, you can see his grip on the ball and watch it head toward the plate. That's Blue Rocks pitcher Chris Dwyer on the right. He pitched 5 innings and gave up 2 runs.

The best thing about being at a baseball game is that it makes me forget about what else is going on in the world.

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (AFP) – Tropical Storm Alex veered away from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill Saturday but experts warned that strong waves and winds could still upset efforts to halt the environmental disaster.
With oil continually gushing into the fragile waters after 68 days, President Barack Obama's pointman on the disaster cautioned that volatile weather conditions could set back oil recovery operations for up to two weeks.

Well, what's another two weeks when it's already been gushing for over two months? Thank God (or whatever) that Kevin Costner is around to help. It seems to be too much for our government, big oil and the country's top scientists and engineers. In times of crisis, we turn to movie stars. The very same movie stars who are told to keep quiet when they spout their political views, the idea being that they are not social activists. Well, now that you need one, you turn to one. It's Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in real life. Ridicule him, until you realize that he can help. Now he is your friend.

Vice President Joe Biden heads to the region on Tuesday and is due to visit the New Orleans-based National Incident Command Center before traveling to the Florida panhandle.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Carol Browner, who heads the White House Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy, will also visit.
On Saturday, activists and southeast Louisiana residents gathered at area beaches to hold hands and show their support for clean energy and oppose offshore drilling.
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal declared Sunday a "Statewide Day of Prayer for perseverance during the oil spill crisis."

It's a big visiting spot, the oil spill. It's probably in the top five regional destinations for travelers - if you happen to be in politics and would like your face shown with a concerned look. As though they can do anything. Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter went a week ago. What's he going to do? Tax the oil spill, from what I can see of his attitude.

And prayer. They've resorted to prayer. Just like Kevin Costner, Rudolph and God; they turn their back on them until it's crunch time. Then, we have to pray. Whatever happened to the separation of church and state? I guess it's only separate when you think you can get along without it. When you're desperate, pray.

The last resort of a dying man.