Too Much Asthma In The Barnett Shale Zone of Texas & One Case In Tacoma

When I got gas yesterday and called my mom in Phoenix, like I always do when I get gas, I was telling mom about some of the nefarious goings on here in the Barnett Shale zone of North Texas, where we have all gone from being Citizens of the Shale to being Victims of the Shale.

I did not tell my mom about my bizarre encounters with Express Energy Services and the goons in their employ.

But I did mention the cancer cluster that is being investigated in Flower Mound, where an inordinate number of kids have leukemia.

I also mentioned the recent revelation that something like 25% of kids in the Barnett Shale zone have asthma, while the average for the rest of Texas is in the 7% range. Clearly something has gone badly amok in the Barnett Shale zone.

But the adults responsible for looking out for the welfare of the area's citizens are not doing their job. Some of the responsible agencies have been co-opted and corrupted by gas industry lackeys, as well as local governments, like Fort Worth's, where a gas industry lackey was installed as mayor and now is on the take, from the gas drilling companies, to the tune of over $600,000 a year,

It seems the rest of America has given up on this area. Not even the EPA seems to have any clout here. So, the bad stuff just keeps happening, like an asthma epidemic and way too many kids getting leukemia. And as far as I know, there is no FBI investigation in to the corruption here, or any other federal investigation. I don't get it. It's very perplexing.

Anyway, at the point I mentioned asthma, my mom changed the subject to Tacoma, where the kid you see in the picture, above, recently had to be hospitalized due to asthma. The little guy is on oxygen. Now, who is this little guy, you can't help but wonder?

Well, his name is David and my mom also told me that David is about to become my new nephew. My little sister is adopting David.

I had not looked at the blog that my little sister's two poodles, Blue & Max, use to convey their adventures and woes to the world, in awhile. But, after my mom told me about David's asthma woes, I checked in on Blue & Max and saw the picture of David in the hospital.

I also saw a picture of my little brother, Jake, holding David. I do not know if this was pre, or post, David being in the hospital. My mom told me my brother and his current wife were up in Washington. He also lives in Arizona. I have not seen my brother since, I think, April of 2006, at the wedding of his oldest son, my nephew, Jason. I was sort of surprised to see that my little brother now looks sort of like a bloated up version of me. With glasses. And very short hair. And an extra chin.

I'd give you the link to the Blue & Max blog, but they've become very security conscious and only let invited guests view their blog. Which is a shame, because it's such a darn cute blog.