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Rahm uses BP and Barton to paint midterm contrast with GOP… The choice vs. the referendum… Dem candidate airs TV ad against Bachmann over BP comment… When leisure becomes a political issue… Previewing Run-off Tuesday… Mark Kirk’s latest exaggeration/misstatement… And another poll has Charlie Crist in the lead.
*** Rahm’s contrast: Over the weekend, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel made it clear that Democrats would use GOP Rep. Joe Barton’s apology to BP, as well as his criticism of the oil company’s $20 billion escrow account, against the Republicans in the fall. “There is a choice that Joe Barton has offered the American people, a philosophy for the Republican Party, which is that BP is the aggrieved party,” Emanuel said on ABC. “That's a governing philosophy. In the coming weeks you'll see the president speak to the country about these competing different philosophies. That is, do you have only the energy executives in the room, or do you have energy executives, environmentalists, and other people from the venture capital community to come to a consensus on energy policy? Do you think that BP is the aggrieved party here? Do you think that Wall Street should be left alone and not have any reforms? Elections are about choices.”
*** A choice vs. a referendum: Then again, the incumbent party -- especially facing tough political headwinds -- usually tries to cast elections as a choice. And the opposition typically casts them as a referendum, because referendums are usually losers for the party in power. In fact, Emanuel, when he was head of the DCCC during the ’06 cycle said this: "At the end of the day, this is a referendum on whether you think the next two years should be like the last six years.” In ’06 and ’08, the referendum argument won the day. In ’02 and ’04, the Bush White House was able to win on the “choice” argument.
*** The Dem ad against Bachmann: Some Democrats aren’t waiting until the fall to hit Republicans on BP. Politico reports that Tarryl Clark (D), who’s running a somewhat uphill campaign against GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann, has a new TV ad highlighting the congresswoman’s Barton-esque defense of BP. “It’s BP’s fault and they should pay,” the ad says of the Gulf spill. “But Michele Bachmann calls making BP pay for the cleanup ‘extortion.’” The ad concludes, “Michele Bachmann -- standing up for BP, not us.” Keep in mind: Challengers like Clark need to find a way to stand out, and this is clearly one of those attempts. The question is whether it catches on; we just don’t know yet if attacks on Joe Barton and the GOP re: BP are working.
*** When leisure becomes a political issue: All the criticism that BP CEO Tony Hayward has received for his Yacht outing in the U.K. has given Republicans an opening to whack President Obama for his various leisure activities, including playing golf during the spill -- as he did on Saturday. Indeed, RNC Chairman Michael Steele issued this release yesterday: “While it is fitting and appropriate to look at the yachting activities of the BP CEO, with incredulity, it is equally incredible that President Obama finds himself on yet another golf course as oil continues to spew into the Gulf.” And Democrats made similar attacks from 2001-2008 against George W. Bush (for playing golf, for going on extended trips to Crawford and Kennebunkport). But let’s also get real here: Obama has gone on fewer getaways than Bush ever did , and we assume that critics who are playing the golf/getaway card aren’t going to take any vacations or hit the links and ballparks, right? Still, it's a different media climate now, and it is amazing to see conservatives essentially cut-and-paste some Bush attacks (that they use to pooh-pooh) and re-apply to Obama. While optics matter, does anyone really think either the previous president or this one isn't constantly aware of the problems they are facing?
*** Run-off Tuesday: Tomorrow brings us another round of primary contests, and they have this in common: They’re run-offs in some form or fashion. In North Carolina, Elaine Marshall (D) and Cal Cunningham (D) compete for the right to challenge Sen. Richard Burr (R) in the fall (in the May primary, Marshall got 36%, and Cunningham got 27%). In South Carolina, Nikki Haley takes on Gresham Barrett in the run-off for the GOP gubernatorial nomination (Haley got 49% in the June 8 primary, and Barrett got 22%). And in Utah, Republican Senate candidates Mike Lee and Tim Bridgewater face off in what’s technically a primary, but it’s essentially a run-off between the top-two finishers from the May GOP convention, in which incumbent Sen. Bob Bennett finished third. A new Deseret News/KSL-TV poll shows Bridgewater with a nine-point lead over Lee, 42%-33%, with 25% undecided.
*** The latest hit on Kirk: The exaggeration/misstatement hits keep coming for Illinois GOP Senate nominee Mark Kirk. On Saturday, the New York Times reported that the leader of an upstate New York church where Kirk claimed he worked as a nursery school teacher said he didn’t serve as a teacher there. “He was never, ever considered a teacher,” the leader told the Times. “He was just an additional pair of hands to help a primary teaching person.” The paper added, “Mr. Kirk’s background has come under fresh examination after his apology this month for errors and discrepancies about his military record. A review of public comments by Mr. Kirk over the last decade shows that he has often referred to himself in speeches, campaign commercials and interviews as a former nursery, middle and high school teacher. He taught for a year in London at a private school, after getting his master’s degree at the London School of Economics." When is this going to end for Kirk? Giannoulias may be a flawed candidate, but his campaign's ability to cut Kirk as many times as it has shows the Democrat has a first-rate campaign. By the way, Vice President Biden stumps for Giannoulias at 3:00 pm ET in Chicago.
*** More midterm news: In Florida, yet another poll shows Charlie Crist leading the three-way Senate contest: The Florida Chamber of Commerce survey has Crist at 42%, Marco Rubio at 31%, and Kendrick Meek at 14%... In Nevada, Sharron Angle has a new Web ad that punches back at Harry Reid (although the fact that she’s hitting back via the Web and not paid advertising highlights her financial disadvantage against Reid).
Countdown to UT primary and NC and SC run-offs: 1 day
Countdown to AL run-off: 22 days
Countdown to GA primary: 29 days
Countdown to OK primary: 36 days
Countdown to KS and MO primaries: 43 days
Countdown to CO and CT primaries: 50 days
Countdown to Election Day 2010: 134 days
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Oil: The Thing of the Past:
You know, oil is expensive. It’s expensive to get it out of the ground/ocean, it’s expensive to refine into gasoline, and it’s expensive to purchase. Oil pollutes our air as we drive to work. It creates an environmental disaster which kills wildlife, destroys our way of life and is very expensive to clean up. I’m ready to say let the Republicans apologize to BP and keep their drill, baby, drill slogans. Someday we will run out of oil. That is a fact.
Conservatives cling to the past and progressives look to the future to figure out a better way. It was Kennedy who created a goal of getting a man on the moon before the end of the decade. I wonder if the conservatives had remained in power if we would ever had circled the planet, landed on the moon, built a Hubble telescope, or sent an unmanned craft to Mars.
Republicans talk about their grandkids being up to their neck in debt. But if we listened to the GOP, our grandkids would be living on a polluted earth without fresh streams to fish and fresh air to breathe. Now it is a Democrat who has a vision of an America using clean energy. Electrical energy using wind, solar, and nuclear sources will be the energy of the future.
There will be little to no bipartisanship in the months and years to come. The mainstream of the Republican Party is Joe Barton, Rand Paul, Michele Backmann, and Sarah Palin. They have no vision of who we are and where we need to be headed. Their solution is to vote NO, be oppositional, and keep things as they were when Reagan was in office.
Last week I talked about being exhausted from the last election. But today I’m giving notice that the fight is not over and complacency among Democrats will not do. Our work for a better America is ongoing.
Good Morning Ron,
Excellent post as usual & I'm Fired Up and Ready to Go! Although Mark Kirk is the gift that keeps on giving to the Dem's!
Mark Kirk has quite the imagination! Seems he's only a legend in his own mind! lol
The republicans also neglect to mention that our grandchildren will be up to their necks in debt because of them and treading oil.
Kirk is a jerk and has insulted all our fine Military People past and present. I vote we send him to a foxhole by himself for some needed meditation.
Good Morning Ron, great post. Good Morning All
If you want a good case scenario of why we need to seek alternative clean energy sources, I recommend to anyone interested, a piece I read over the weekend:
Gulf Oil Spill: A hole in the world by Naomi Klein, and published in the UK Guardian it is also available thru Google under the author's name.
To quoth: The Deepwater Horizon disaster is not just an industrial accident- it is is a violent wound inflicted on the Earth itself. In this special report from the Gulf coast, this leading author and activist shows how it lays bare the hubris at the heart of capitalism.
Gingerbread,
I saw that. We are paying now for not being forceful enough to get off oil and fossil fuels is the past. Hopefully this will be enough of a wake up call. While no one solution is viable for all, a comination of wind, solar, geo-thermic, nuclear, hydorgen-cells, etc needs to be developed ASAP. I pray I live long enough to see some meaningful headway otherwise things are going to get worst.
Good Post. I hope you had a grat weekend.
Now let's be fair, Republicans have no problem when an Alaskan governor arranges a $2000.00 handout to each Alaskan as "payment" for allowing the company to drill for oil. They have no problem when Alaska taps the federal government on top of that to pay for roads, infastructure, sporting arenas, etc. See, it all depends on the political party the governor belongs to: if its a Reepublican it's good managment, if its a Democrat, its a shake down.
As always, good post.
The opportunity to move toward renewable energy has come and gone many times; our attention span is near zero. Carter started it again during the oil embargo and as soon as things got better, it's back to business as usual and Reagan discontinued both the funds and the programs. If good can come from the on-going BP oil leak, maybe it is that we finally see the true cost of oil dependence DAILY and we will see it for months.
Forward thinking for the country has always come from those who think progressively. The British sympathizers during the Revolutionary war must have been republicans because it is how they think--small incremental steps, no big changes, don't rock the boat.
Gingerbread Mama. I did not see it but appreciate the information so I can.
I agree our work is not done and that we need to keep up the fight! I refuse to let the NO Party continue to keep this country in the dark ages.
Change takes time and the President made it clear during the election fight that it would not be easy. I will remain patient and stand with our President and continue to look for better things in the future.
That's the problem Feisty, all Republicans think they're a ledgend, but as we know it's in their own minds.
You know, Ron, I ususally see you as someone who thinks things through, however much I might disagree with conclusions. This? This is just delusional.
I have been hearing that 'fossil fuels are a thing of the past, we need an alternative' for most of my life. Here is the problem: there IS no good alternative.
In the county where I live, there is one windmill, and a plan for a windfarm on the bay. Problem: the people who live near the existing windmill want it shut down-they can't take the noise. The people who live near the bay where the windfarm is proposed are fighting to keep it from coming to fruition-they have every reason you can shake a stick at.-some legitimate, others pure nonsense. It boils down to the fact that they simply do not want it.
Ethanol? You don't have a problem with burning food when there are people starving? Not to mention that it does little or nothing to reduce carbon emissions.
The solar panels on my house have reduced my electric bill so little I'll have to live to be a thousand for them to have paid off. Ditto the geothermal addition to my home heating system.
For years, the lunatic fringe believed that there was a magic carborator that, when installed, would get 100mpg. They claimed that it was locked away at GM. Well, the government owns GM-think that magic carborater exists?
Most of the pipe dreams about clean, renewable energy are just that. Environmentalists don't like dams-so hydropower is out. Windfarms are going the way of the Hoover dam, so write them off. Forget nuclear-despite the fact that is has the best promise of providing clean efficient renewable energy. And, if you really want to make an environmentalist's head explode, talk about 'garbage to gas' plants. We have one in the Keys that supplies electricity to 70,000 homes-that's almost all of them-but the enviros want it shut down. In favor of what? They don't know.
The plain and simple fact of the matter is that if there were an easy, cheap fix to reliance on fossil fuels, it would have been found already. Think about it. In your and my lifetime, the changes in everyday life have been many. Did you have a computer growing up? A cell phone? an iPod?
There have been many brilliant, motivated people seeking alternatives to fossil fuels for more than 40 years. There are additions to our useage, but nothing that can come close to replacement. The laws of physics are still in existance, however much you may wish them away. That is what stands in the way of clean, cheap, affordable energy that will do away with fossil fuels.
Jody:
Your comment made me smile. I never thought of British sympathizer as beign Republican. But I bet they were.
it's relatively easy to comment about conservatives. Besides lowering taxes, I haven't heard a new idea coming from their lips for...40 years.
They were Tories, Ron ... and certainly not labor party.
Dude (no joe, no bo, nj),
You are a dud for talking about GM's magic carborator... common, please tell me you know that the only reason why we are not achieving 100mpg is because there's no actual drive to. You can't be that mentally lazy... you just cant... I submit that you are just trying to mess with me.
Imagine, we have cars in the 70's getting 35mpg and in today's world, we have cars getting avg mpg in the mid 20's... yes cars a little more powerful on average, but you mean we can improve the efficiency of burning fossil fuels from 10% to 80%???
Did you know that most of the burning of gasoline in cars do not translate to translational or rotational energy... it's converted to heat, which is lost (not used).... I'm an automotive engineer and the only reason why we dont have an 100mpg car is mainly due to demand~!!!!! If we demanded it, we would have it withing 2years - that's a fact. You are still subscribed to the idea of "if it aint broke, dont fix it".... it's quite sad because change is severely needed for the betterment of this country.
By the way, check out this car: http://www.teslamotors.com/models/
it can get over 300mpg... and once it's in production, it will change cars, as you know it; whether you like it or not.
So No Jo what your saying isthat we should forget about a way to get away from fossil fuels and just continue to destroy the environment? is that what you saying.
the way to get reduce fossil fuels is to build the high speed rail system that Europe has, that will make air travel between city's like Chicago to St Louis less likely and there will reduce the need for jet fuel, we can promote our rail system so that we have less cargo flights, again less jet fuel, we can make out public trans system better and more efficient so we don't have to gas up the car as much as we do, there is no way to not use fossil fuels but what your saying is to not try and reduce. No Jo i look back at 1981 when Reagan cut the federal subsidy to Amtrak, and then deregulated the air lines, that alone put us on the path we are on right now. less train traffic and more plane traffic. just think if he has not cut that subsidy and made Amtrak use that to invest in hi speed rail, the problem we are having right now with 4.00 per gallon gas and airlines charging 50 bucks for you to check a bag because of fuel cost would not have happened. we need to look to our past see our mistakes and not make them again.
we are making big mistakes right now.
Jeff-what, precisely, do you think trains run on? Fairy dust?
One must also consider the efficiencies-planes rarely fly without a full passenger load; cargo planes go nowhere until their holds are full. Trains, on the other hand, keep their scheduled times whether there is one passenger, or an overload. Ditto conrail.
I've been on the trains in Europe, and agree with you that it is not a bad way to travel. However, Americans are not going to take a four hour high speed train ride between NY and Chicago when they can get there in under two hours by plane. It isn't going to happen, no matter how much you wish it so.
Which brings me to another point: the trains in Europe are almost fully utilized by vacationers. Business travelers continue to fly unless there is truly no other alternative.
If wishes were horses, beggers would ride. That truism is apt for this discussion. We can all 'wish' for clean, renewable fuel that will not negatively impact our lifestyles. Unfortunately, those wishes don't come true.
No Jo:
Your comments clearly reflect the differences between a Progressive and a Conservative. You have given reason why windmills, solar panels, nuclear energy, ethanol won't work. Because we have not made clean energy a national priority all we have to show is a few squeeky windmills, energy saving light bulbs and some solar panels. I envision a United States with thousands of windmills, underwater turbines that capture the energy of the tides, and nuclear energy. We have a long way to go, but being myopic and a naysayer will not get us where we need to be.
no joe, no bo, nj
Jeff-what, precisely, do you think trains run on? Fairy dust?
trains run on electric diesel motor that use a fraction of the fuel that planes run on, again i said we can reduce out use of fossil fuels. yes if i could get on a train and go from st louis from chicago and it takes 3 hours i will do it, it beats going to the airport 2 hours early hoping your flight is not delayed, hoping the flight is not over sold, hoping the airport where your going is not closed because of weather. so the 1 1/2hour flight to chicago from st louis really 4 hours. why not try something, because if we don't we will have a spill a year.
NoJo, you claim that the reason why we should not look for alternative energy is because you "simply do not want it." And that is not an accepatable, nor reasoned explanation as to why we cannot seek alternative energy. You exemplify the nay saying, obstrutionist ideology of the GOP, and the very reason why I am also fired up to get more progressives in power. I blame your regressive attitude for the troubles we are in.
Thanks for speaking the truth on oil. For great and interesting reading check out the book "$20 A Gallon."
So, Ron, how much do you want for your vehicle? Since oil is so evil, I'm sure you don't want to use it.
Dang I tell you’ll you are about to get an old country boy so doggone panicked that I ‘m going to crawl right back in bed of a morning and pull those covers up and just shiver. Last month it was all those ism’s that were just bound and determined to take away my last vestige of freedom or were at the very least going to spark a world-wide cataclysm the likes of which we haven’t seen since Noah or Job or one of those fellows. Then it was old McDonnell wanting me to grab up my long rifle and haul freight down to Bull Run to repel all the Yankee invaders or at least the Democratic ones. Now the hyphen’s have got you’ll all up in arms and first thing you’ll know you are going to build a bunch of Mexican-Americans into a such a threat to the domestic tranquility that you are going to up and invade Mexico. And yes before everybody gets all huffy I know that they are properly Hispanics but whenever I hear most of the fellows that are hollering through the megaphones all I ever hear about is those dern rascally Mexicans. Seems even if they came through Mexico on their way from Argentina they are Mexican. I’ll bet that if the airplane bringing refugees from Haiti made a fuel stop in Mexico city by the time it landed in Dallas it would be full of Mexicans Must rub off on them when they come thru. Why to hear a lot of you talk these folks are responsible for every societal ill there is in these United States and if we can just convince them to slide on back South then us real Americans are just going to be blessed with Peace ,Harmony and Brotherhood the likes of which has never been seen before. Just a question but I keep hearing about 11 million illegals. How did we count them? If we can count them we must know where they are don’t we? If we know where they are then why are they still here? I mean they are illegal and we have paid a lot of fellows in law enforcement a lot of money to uphold the law haven’t we? Sounds like we have been paying some fellows for a long time to not do their jobs if they’ve let the problem stack up this high since I don’t remember either administration( past and present )telling anybody to not do their jobs. Looks like things got a little out of hand to me. So it appears to me that most of our source of controversy here is the result of 30 years of kicking this can down the road by both our Federal, State and Local governments mostly because avoiding the question was easier and in most cases beneficial to some. So now in the midst of all the myriad problems that we are trying to deal with some of you’ll have decided that the United of America should throw every individual right and all the justice guaranteed by our constitution and 200 years of court cases and tradition willy nilly in a half @ssed attempt to solve the problem or you’re going to secede from the union. Say What? About half of you are willing to start another Civil War right here right now because you don’t think that your viewpoint is being addressed in the manner that you are demanding. Why don’t you’ll start using your heads for something besides to hold your ears apart? Knock off the hyperbole and Horse crud and let’s all set down at the table and solve the problem and quit making nasty faces at one another. Plus that Bob McDonnell is already kind of depending on my services down at Bull Run and just like him I would tell all of you the chances of me showing up either place are slim and none.
A tip of the old Redneck slouch hat to Pietro for a fine effort and for taking a lot of time over the weekend to expand the debate and for trying to keep it in some semblance that makes sense. Having spent most of my life on construction sites and around folks that most would deem rather crude I thought I knew about every different way there was to disparage somebody’s physical traits and general mental condition. Sad to say I learned a bunch of new ways this weekend and some of it was rather imaginative to say the least.
Independent,
I have to say your post was tough to read (all one paragraph and limited punctuation), but I have to say I agree wholeheartedly with your thoughts and perspective. If we could all just get back to having a reasonable discussion about the serious issues we ALL face without the rancor, derision, and hyperbole and start addressing the problems instead of attacking someone for holding an opinion that happens to be different from yours.
We all have to find a way past the hate and anger and start talking with respect to each other. There are some great ideas out there. There is also a lot of not so great ideas as well.
Pa. I'm working on the composition part but it occasionally slips away from me. This one sure did as I can see but I thank you for the patience and sticking with me long enough to get what I was trying to say. You too Navy
Thanks for sharing some good old fashioned, home style common sense with us this morning . . . it is certainly in short supply.
P.S. Glad I wasn't the only one to notice the recent phenomena of all Hispanic folks being from Mexico . . . all those other Latin American countries probably don't even know that they don't actually exist and are just extensions of Mexico . . . somebody should probably let them know. ;o)
Independent Redneck, VA
You just keep writing and get your ideas out there. They have merit for all.
Yes Nash it always seems a little funny to me how easy some folks find it to denigrate somebody once they have arrived at a stereotype class to put them in.Groups seem to require less thought to deal with than real living breathing individuals don't they.
Another good post with plenty of humor. It would be funny if there weren't so many talking about 2nd amendment remedies if they don't win, seceding from the US--maybe we could just send them elsewhere and they can form their own state (Utah, Nevada, NM, AZ, TX could donate land for them) and they can live happily ever after in their paranoid little world. Republicans need enemies and lots of them; the GOP has always been about telling people to be afraid and who is to blame.
ALLBlow's post is worthy of a vote for the MOST outrageous so far today... Her of all people calling Ron 'delusional' lololololololol
Well said, IR!! Love it!!
During the depression and World War II, President Roosevelt obviously couldn't play golf. However, he did have happy hours practically every night in the White House, with cabinet members, Winston Churchill, etc. And I bet that helped him tremendously to ease some of the strain of the problems he was facing on an hourly basis. Jackie Kennedy made sure friends and family surrounded JFK during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Dinner parties were a constant @ the Kennedy White House. Harry Truman was always drinking and playing poker with his buddies.
Everybody needs to get away and regroup, whether it's golfing, swimming, reading a book, going to a movie, taking a walk, playing cards, going to a baseball game. It's essential. And for those who complain, they're full of it.
Getting out to play golf is great. Being outside in nature with all the beautiful trees, blue skies, sunshine and green grass - it's such a healthy thing to be doing for your frame of mind.
That's strange. I swear I heard Joe Biden a couple months ago claim that he used to caddy for FDR at Burning Tree country club. Then after playing a few holes they would go inside and watch "I Love Lucy" on TV.
Pat great Post I voted on that. A great weekend for the Sox, I was so happy that I sent my grandson off to day camp this morning wearing his Red Sox shirt.
Gingerbread Mamma: I'm a little slow getting into baseball this year. Don't know why. I had the game on the other night and who was sitting there in the front row of the Monster Seats @ Fenway Park but the one and only Roger Clemens. I couldn't believe it!
Red Sox shirts. lol I can't tell you how many t-shirts I had from over the last 10 years. I'm slowly getting rid of them. Too many; way too many. But the kids sure look adorable in them. Which is how it should be.
Good morning.
It seems to me that much of the media is missing the real issue brought to light by the Joe Barton apology to BP. Rahm Emmanuel is right - he was in fact articulating the Republican position: private businesses should be left alone to do whatever they think is best.
The fact that Mr. Barton still feels that way about BP even in the current circumstance illustates the danger of letting idealogy replace your common sense. This is the same problem that Rand Paul had, taking an idealogical position and sticking to it no matter what the real world consquences might be.
We have been hearing these same arguments from conservatives for years, but instead of following their logic to its inevitable (and often disastrous) end, the media always just reports what was said, followed by the insincere "apology", and then quickly changes the subject to the "political ramifications" of what they report as an "error", but is actually just a statement of what the Republican party actually believes.
Request for the media: Stop avoiding having real discussions about real issues by hiding behind polls and "some say" reporting. Let' examine a society with no regulations, no safety net programs like Social Security and Medicare, no restrictions on private enterprises who are free to exploit and discriminate on a case by case basis as they see fit.
Let's have a national discussion about things instead of just glossing over the inconvenient bits with media double talk and spin. The American people deserve to know the truth about those who claim to "represent" us in government.
P.S. The entire "President golfing" talking point is lame because whether or not the media chooses to highlight it or not, there is ALWAYS a tragedy going on somewhere - so it would be impossible to try to schedule all leisure activities for when the world is perfect. I am assuming that the President's critics just spend their time watching the live feed of the oil spewing out and eating saltine crackers for strength?
Give me a break.
Great post Nashville. I think it is a travesty that there is no longer any real journalism being practiced anywhere in the media. The days of investigative or hard-hitting journalism are long gone, replaced by the populist cheerleaders, propaganda machines, and conservative blatherers in the echo chamber.
Until we wake the hell back up and realize that allowing "news organizations" to be based on ratings and profit instead of what is in the public interest, this country is in a world of hurt. We used to require those using our public airwaves to prove on every renewal application for a broadcast license that they were indeed operating in the public interest. How the hell can something so biased and political be passed off as news in the public interest?
Nashville,
Point on. The DEMS need to keep the pressure on these people so that the voting public does not loose site of their lies, lack of any meaningful solutions, and the fact that they are for Big Business, Oil, Insurance Companies and the richest segment of our population. THey are not a solution for the commn folk and we need to keep pounding that home, day in and day out.
Wish the Dems would get behind Tarryl Clark with everything they have. Her ad was great.
Michele Bachmann losing her seat, would tempt be to go off the wagon. I would love to
celebrate her lose.
The media reports his golf outing while their getting ready for a two week long vacation. Only they deserve time off, it's so hard cutting and pasting all day.
To the main stream media, get out and do some real journalism, instead of copying from another so called new organization.
Our media has become tabloid news. The one who makes up the best story gets the best ratings. And Fox is winning so far.
Well said. Joe Barton inadvertently voiced for all to hear their true colors and all the GOP apologies won't put humpty dumpty together again.
The media should and must drive the discussion in an intelligent way. It must report what Joe Barton's comments really mean; it needs to question unsustainable tax cuts for those with the most, taxpayer funded credits to big oil, the cost of deregulation, the impact of no safety nets for everyone and all the other things you listed. What is critical for this country's future has nothing to do with whether or not Pres Obama played golf or Tony Hayward went to a yacht race.
Sandy,
We can hope. I think things are starting to come around. Every day I am seeing more of the lies and misinformation being exposed, much of it right here. If we keep it up, people will notice. I would love to see Tarryl Clark kick Michelle's butt out the door.
Jody:
Why do you feel everything a Republican says has to be psycho analyzed? The man said something stupid and he also stated he was speaking for himself. Barton wins his district by 80% so he is not in trouble there.
Democrats can go right ahead and beat this dead horse but I ask WTF is it doing to stop that oil?
A POLITICIAN IS A POLITICIAN......sound like a broken record but it is true. They ALL say and do stupid things.
Ole' 9 Fingers Emanuel is a little wuss that never got any attention at home growing up and so now he is trying to flex.
Back to topic: What do you want a POLITICIAN from an OIL state with a lot of people employed in the industry to say? You are not from oil country so you don't understand.
If the U.S. could do without oil and an alternative was available, we would have it by now. None of us in our lifetime will ever see oil go away so there is no need to get your blood pressure high about it. Maybe our great-grandchildren will come up with something one day, but those minds are not even born yet.
InTheMiddle,
How do you explain all the other Republican politicans who share the same sentiment? I mean, I don't have a problem with folks sharing how they feel, whether I agree or not.
I think the bigger issue here is was this a gaffe, or is this what alot of folks in the Republican party believe?
And judging by the number of times this sentiment has been experessed, and not just by Joe Barton, can you see why many of us believe that there are a significant number of folks in the Republican Party who feel that BP is being treated unfairly?
Wonder why ITM felt it necessary to point out '9 fingers' in his rant?
Any ideas? Anyone?
Nash:
I can assure you that there are just as many Democrats from oil states that feel the same way but will not say it out in the public arena.
It was as stupid statement and that is all. If he felt that way, he should have kept it to himself because everything a Republican says will be blasted on MSNBC 24/7.
How would you feel if a major employer of your state was put in the same situation? You will have to make a choice to either put hundreds of thousand jobs on the line by blasting them or just say it was an accident and we need to work on getting it fixed.
If they keep riding these companies, those rigs will end up around Brazil or elsewhere. If you think unemployment is high now; let that happen. You guys from non-oil states do not understand the impact of no oil will do to local economies.
BTW Fiesty:
Maybe I should have said "Ole' 9 Fingers and 1 Nub" or maybe "Ole' 9 and a Knuckle"
InTheMiddle,
This isn't really a "oil" or "non oil" state issue, seeing as we all use the oil. Obviously, we have got to do a better job safe guarding against what happened here, and I don't think that drilling with our fingers crossed so folks can keep working is a good plan.
Especially since the President got BP to agree to pay the unemployed rig workers (something I don't hear folks mentioning too much for some reason).
ITM,
If we "back off" of BP and allow them to skate on their responsibilities, how long until the OTHER industries in the Gulf area are dead from the poison in the water? When the entire region becomes BP's personal toxic wasteland, I am pretty sure that the oil covered beaches that will be the only thing remaining will not be shedding too many tears for the poor displaced little oil workers that BP thought nothing about killing eleven of their colleagues.
Simply because the people of those areas are uneducated (thanks Haley!), economically challenged (because big business cares SO much about how it treats the little guys), and scared (thanks to all the moronic liars in the echo chamber exhorting people to vote in ways that SHOULD be clear to see are totally against their own interests), does not make it right that companies like BP will be given a free ride simply because they spend so much money extracting our oil.
As for the rigs going to other countries or ares, let them go! We have less than TWO FREAKING PERCENT of the world's known oil reserves. We could be extracting as much oil as possible from every last known US reserve and not make a dent in our appetite for oil. And, while we are at it, let's talk about this moronic chant of we need to drill our oil here and not be beholden to the Middle East. Where do you right wing lug nuts think all the oil that we drill here in America ends up? Are you deluded into thinking that there is a large open market in NYC where all the AMERICAN oil goes and that we are the ONLY ones using OUR oil? You are completely clueless and criminally stupid if you do.
ALL oil extracted ANYWHERE in the world ALL goes to the same place. It is called the WORLD market for oil. Anything that is extracted ANYWHERE goes to the same marketplace where ALL the oil consuming nations bid and purchase the raw materials. Once it comes out of the ground (wherever the point of origin is) it is co-mingled with oil of similar grade and quality and at the moment it is extracted, it is NO LONGER IDENTIFIABLE as to the location of origin. We also do not have the ability to ONLY purchase oil on the world market that originated here.
So, for all of you that are screaming themselves hoarse in support of the need to get off of foreign oil, do us ALL a favor and put down the right wing crack pipe long enough to wake up, open your freaking eyes, and see the REAL world, not just the one that Glenda paints for you with her fairy spectacles every day.
Right Nashville, so very true. IntheMiddle, saying it was just a stupid statement is just a wish that it will go away quietly. In fact I first heard the "shakedown" comment on Hannity's radio show the day before Barton's apology, and all the right wing talkers have worked to develop the "shaking down BP is unfair and Socialistic" story line ever since. This IS the Republican position and even in the face of harsh criticism they have no intention of abandoning it.
John,
I thought you Liberals didn't listen to talk radio. I listened to Hannity all of the time and I never heard him say that. That is a LIE! Yes you are a LIAR. This is not the Republican position, you Liberals are attempting to make it the Republican position. Republicans are not going to let Liberals speak for them.
Disgusted:
Look man apparently you don't know anything about the South. Everybody here is not dumb and ignorant. There are just as many educated people in Alabama as there are in Pa. That is a slap to the face of everyone in this area that get off of their azz everyday; go to work and take care of their family the bet way they know how.
At least these dumb azz people down here your referring to work. I bet there are a bunch of PhD, Master's, and BA holders in Pa. UNEMPLOYED.
As far as relaxation, I also read where Mamie Eisenhower's mother lived at the White House, and for relaxation Mamie and her mother used to sit in the mother's bedroom, while the mom played some sort of instrument (I have forgotten which instrument) while Mamie played the accordian. lol
'...CATHY M.-647265
'...I think he probably believed that the congress, including those DINO blue dogs, were adults and were capable of moving themselves toward the people and away from the corporations...'
Sorry, Cathy
THAT'S the difference between a 'Supporter' and a 'Sycophant'
It's a Sycophant who makes excuses for anything her Fearless Leader does
Obama BLEW IT on HCR He had 60 Democrats and Couldn't get it passed
Because he never told anyone what he wanted He Never LEAD But, you're content to justify that kind of STUPIDITY The Chosen One was over reacting to the mistakes made by the Clintons when they got bogged down HCR He Over Reacted by staying uninvolved
Lead. Follow or GETOUT OF THE WAY If Obama didn't want to lead, he shouldn't have run for President Maybe he should have entered the Tiger Beat Koolest Kid Kontest
ANSWEER the Question: WHY did Obama not speak up ? WHY ? What was he busy iwth ? During the primary, he was SPECIFIC about his desires for HCR WHY DIDN'T HE SPEAK OUT ? Forget the Excuses,
WHY would you run for President and NOT want any input into you key legislative goal? WHY would Obama NOT WANT INPUT on HCR ?
Sorry, you and others on this board are just making excuses LAME EXCUSES
During the HCR debate, the Chosen One did not refute Gooper LIES The Goopers saw they could get away with making up Lies because the President would refute them DON'T EXPECT ANYBODY to do the job for him Obama has to stand up for himself and learn to be a man It's High School all over again
It was Nancy Pelosi who passed HCR after Obama Blew it She had to drag him, kicking and screaming
'...We never had a MAJORITY as those blue dogs were never going to vote against big business. They were not following the Democratic platform...'
It's simply not true How can you prove that statement ? In the end they did vote for a bill It was Obama and Rahm Emmanuel who came out AGAINST the Public Option I think a Majority of the American people supported a Public Option Your Messiah helped kill it LEAD, FOLLOW or GET OUT OF THE WAY
You NEVER Explain why Obama didn't 'suggest' what should or shouldn't be in the bill (other than the Public Option) THERE WAS NO LOGICAL REASON FOR HIM NOT TO LEAD ! THERE WAS NO REASON But, you make phony excuses for him WHAT was he too busy doing to distract him from HCR ? WHAT WAS IT ?
You're making EXCUSES for him That's what a sycophant does That's what an Apologist does You can't learn form you mistakes if you don't acknowledge them Obama IS NOT three steps ahead of everybody He's ON THE ROPES And he's gonna lose us seats in the November elections But, you'll say it's someone elses fault If Obama is sooooooooo clever, why do so many people still believe he's Kenyan ? or Muslim ? or Socialist ? or sponsoring Death Panels ? Can't he convince anyone but you ?
Not a very good salesman Not the Great Communicator ?
'... Did you by any chance write any letters to those blue dogs?...'
Did Fearless Leader TALK TO THEM ? That might have helped Did the Chosen One TELL THEM WHAT HE WANTS ? Why would they listen to me and NOT him ? Remember when the Senate Democrats wanted to take away Joe Lieberman's chairmanship ? Joe supported McCain instead of Obama Obama got the Democrats to let Joe keep his chairmanship WITHOUT RASKING THE JOE SUPPORT HCR !! Clever
'... He was gracious in believing that everyone has the best for Americans in mind....'
'Gracious' ? 'Gracious' ? Why use such fancy terms ? Here in Frisco we call that STUPID In Frisco we think 'Bi-Partisanship' with the Boner and Mitch McConnell is Surrender How much time did he WASTE with Charles Grassley ?? Here's a CLUE: Grassley was PLAYING Obama he was NEVER Serious He admitted as much 'Gracious' NO, STUPID SI (but he's three steps ahead of everybody in his chess moves)
'...And if people really believed in "death panels", no one was going to dissuade them, especially when the Republican leadership played right into it, lying and disgracing their positions. Hold them accountable. ..'
Maybe if the Anointed One had held a presser denouncing Death Panels as a LIE, it might have helped But, apparently he was too busy
Sorry, I don't belong to the Kenyan Fundamentalist Church and I'm really not that fond of Kool-Aid (but, try the Kenyan Kola)
'...But I guess you liked Bush's style better....bring it on, cowboy style that made us the target of the rest of the world. Maybe you also are a DINO. It sure sounds like it from your postings....'
Actually Bush WAS MORE SUCESSFUL in getting his agenda than Obama (so much for chess, huh ?) Bush got his invasion, his tax cuts, his de-regulation The whole Republican Play book and YOU'RE HERE DEFENDING OBAMA !!!
'...During the primary and general I used to read your posts and felt like you were a strong supporter of the ideals of the party. Now all I hear is criticism. You're entitled to your feelings and beliefs, but I also am entitled to differ with you....'
Right ! I thought OBAMA was a 'strong supporter of the ideals of the party' and I hoped he could get something done Silly Me !!
The Obama Presidency is kind of like Purgatory.......... it isn't Heaven...... it isn't Hell
But, I guess you can settle for that Ignorance is Strength, Two and Two is Five if Party says so, We've Always been at war with Eurasia....
Being a Zombie is its' own punishment
When did President Obama have 60 Democrats in the Senate? Never, that's when.
President Obama doesn't need defending - the results he has gotten speak for themselves: stimulus passed, health care passed, escrow fund created, terrorists assasinated.
'Nuff said.
"Terrorists assassinated?" WTF? Why was that a "war crime" under Bush, but is seen as a positive action worthy of praise for Obama?
Why was the Patriot Act the beginnings of an evil, facist state under Bush but we don't hear a thing about it's supposed oppression now that Obama is prez?
And when is he going to close Gitmo?
Like it or not President's have to govern from the center! Why do you think 'W' screwed up as badly as he did - he governed from the extreme right!
Is President Obama as liberal as I would like? Hell NO - but I'll take him over the a Repub ANY day!
Dearest CU:
Now if you want to have a conversation with ME and not with the mythical "librul" in your head, you will note that you cannot find a time when I accused President Bush of a "war crime" in relationship to drones taking out know terrorist leaders.
Now if you wanna talk about illegal wiretapping, torture, and deliberately using misinformation to justify an unneccessary invasion of Iraq, yeah that was me.
The President is going to close Gitmo when he can secure funding from the Congress and find suitable alternative prison sites for the prisoners who ain't leaving yet.
Question for you: Why didn't President Cheney come up with a process to clean up his own mess before he left office?
Interesting how often President Obama is asked to clean up other folks screw ups, all while the folks actually responsible complain that it is taking too long.
Grab a mop CU, grab a mop.
Just as I always suspected. The "passion" with which libs railed against Bush for supposed crimes against humanity and the constitution, was all hypocrisy based soley on politics. Big surprise there.
I think that the familes 4000+ dead soldiers in Iraq would disagree CU.
Your need to equate each and every move of President Obama with one made by President Obama is overly simplistic and just a little childish.
Both men are different and faced different circumstances, so really, there is no fair comparison to be made.
President Bush did the best he could with the tools he was working with . . . sadly, on many issues his best simply was not good enough. And I say this not to criticize his intellect, but because I feel that on many issues, he was hamstrung by an ideology that has now been proven lacking in many fundamental ways. He did what he thought was right . . . with devastating results for the nation and the world.
However, I have tremendous empathy for anyone serving as President of the United States - not an easy job, and almost everyone thinks that they could do the job better.
President Obama has made and will continue to make mistakes.
Ironically, the mistakes history charges to the Obama Administration will not be the ones we waste so much energy discussing today - things said in speeches, vacations taken or not taken, guest lists at state dinners, and poll numbers as they rise and fall.
Simply put - we are too close to the beginning of the Obama Administration to give a fair assessment of if it has done more good than bad . . . but from my vantage point it seems that he is off to one hell of a start.
Of course, that is MY opinion - so that is not something to ARGUE about.
Time will tell.
Ooops:
The sentence should read:
"Your need to equate each and every move of President Bush with one made by President Obama is overly simplistic and just a little childish.
Hey Nash...from a simple Google search
Democrats.senate.gov - Health Insurance Reform - The Patient ...
December 24, 2009 —The United States Senate witnessed an historic moment this morning, as 60 Democratic Senators cast their votes in favor of passing health ...
Alan . . . now we both know that Joe Lieberman is not a Democrat . . . Bernie Sanders is also not a Democrat . . . but thanks for doing that "simple" Google search . . . because if someone types something, it has to be true, right? :o)
Why does no-one ever make the point that the President purposely didn't insist on specific measures in the Health Care package? It was a PACKAGE!! If he insisted on a public option that would give the republicans a specific target on which to lie and attack in order to kill the pakage, as whith any other specific request that he might make. His actions allowed health care to be crafted and voted on by legislators, which would make it harder for opponent to drive a wedge between the legislating parties.
The naysayers have something critical to say about his every move. I say that we should let the president do his job and judge him on results, amd not nit-pick the process.
After every presidential election, 40 some percent of the public did NOT vote for the eventual winner!!
The ones that did vote for him should stand behind him, expose the lies of the opposition, and allow him to do the job you voted him in to do.
I disagree with pretty much everything you wrote.
For one thing, it ignores the fact that Congress has become as polarized as the country--there are no moderate republicans like Chuck Hagel, Jim Leach, and others who were willing to work with democrats toward solving problems regardless of party; there are, however, moderate democrats unless voters decide to get rid of them, too (which is a bad idea). It assumes that having 60 means you get every person to agree.
One thing I appreciate about democrats is that they do not march in lock step, they try harder to represent ALL their constituents. The public option or single-payer was never going to pass the Senate with its dysfunctional filibuster rules. The final HCR bill had nothing to do with Pres Obama or having 60 votes and everything to do with the power of insurance lobbyists over legislators.
Health care legislation was DEAD, the House and Senate did not want to finish it--truth is, they did not want to tackle it at all in 2009 and his WH advisors did not want him to tackle HCR yet either. Did Pres Obama make errors during the process, sure but that's hind-sight. It was President Obama who pushed Congress to act, who later called both parties to his HC Summit, and with that reminded democrats that they were just short of the finish line. It was President Obama who lit the fire again under Pelosi and Reid. HCR is not perfect but it can be made more perfect as time passes. Our Constitution required amendments to correct the imperfect parts.
Change must come from us, the President cannot change Washington or Congress alone; we must demand it. I believe in President Obama and continue to support his efforts. That does not mean I think he must do everything according to "me" or that I will like everything he does. I recognize that being President means he is CIC of ALL people, not just democrats. For that reason, he will not always please ME but I trust that he is making the decision according to what he knows and I don't know.
Alan . . . now we both know that Joe Lieberman is not a Democrat . . . Bernie Sanders is also not a Democrat .
Hey this is from the Democrats.senate.gov. If they think they're democrats that's good enough for me.
lol Alan . . . I will accept that answer if you will accept everything else you read on Democrats.senate.gov as the gospel truth as easily as you did that, okay? ;o)
You got me there...I have to qualify
Hey this is from the Democrats.senate.gov. If they think they're democrats that's good enough for me in this one and only instance
lol . . . okay Alan, NJ . . . you win! :o)
Personally, Nash -
I'd have called it a draw
(at 20 paces!)
lol Clara . . . I let Alan win because he still comes around and makes his points without getting all hateful and paranoid . . . I like that in a person I don't agree with! ;o)
Time for Black Bart Jerky Joe Barton to Burn Baby Burn in his own Hades of apologizing to BP Oil for President Obama sticking up for the injured people of the Gulf red states by shaking down BP Oil for a $20 billion escrow account to ensure that the people who were economically injured get made whole.
Better believe that Oil Criminal Bush or Crash Dummy McCain would never have done for the red state people what Barack did to get BP Oil to pay up for it's massive preventable oil spill. Nope they would have said that BP Oil is only on the hook for the $75 million cap that needs to be upped to an unlimited amount so that any company that slimes our country and people has to pay the full price to clean up the mess and make the people injured by the disaster whole again economically.
President Obama is the Hero Who Forced BP Oil to Pay!
It was fascinating to watch the Southern politicians on Meet The Press on Sunday, balancing outrage over the oil spill with desperation to get the oil wells pumping. They are really facing a thorny dilemma as the spill ruined the fishing, but the moratorium is ruining the oil drilling business.
PS. David Gregory is getting up my nose. What's up with that guy? Is he trying to play devil's advocate or something? He seems to be fanning partisan spinning from his guests. What do other journalists think about his methods? I find it annoying.
Amy,
I agree it was entertaining to watch Senator Landrieu bend over sideways to throw her own party's President under the bus in her attempts to deflect any blame or financial responsibility onto BP. While she was quick to acknowledge that BP created, she was also highly critical of the President for not doing more and doing it more quickly. Hmmmm.... I guess she left her own magic wand to solve the crisis back home in LA. I don't see her down there at the shore or on the boats offering to solve the dilemma. Maybe she should spend a bit more time back home doing what she can to actually aid the residents of her state. They ARE her constituents after all, and the ones that stupidly elected her.
At least Obama was busy at work securing $20 billion dollars and ensuring that BP does not hide behind litigation and the liability caps and is actually doing something productive to help those affected. It cracks me up how the residents of the affected areas can see firsthand the damage wreaked by big oil and the politicians in their hip pockets and still vote so clearly against their own self interests. Those in the area that are crying about the moratorium and the "lost jobs" need to wake the hell up and realize it is not just about the oil jobs. Those 100,000 jobs mean nothing when the entire gulf, the culture, way of life, and economic future have been poisoned.
At least Obama also had the foresight to require a 100 million fund to pay for the 100,000 oil workers that are temporarily out of work. When they go back to work, will that shut you morons up or will we need to see another leak of this size to finish the job of killing the Gulf and the entire economic viability of an entire region of the country?
David Gregory, as with many others, has lost his way. He used to be pretty fair minded is days gone by and I used to enjoy his discussions. He now just is playing the media game loke so many others. I can't wait for Larry O. Another Air America alumni.
He thinks that is journalism Amy.
Our media have lost their way, no longer is it possible to just have one of them present the facts as found.
The spin it, gin it up and opine on it either verbally or even by voice inflection. Now that is ok for the sound byte generation, but for those of us who are curious and reasonable, we like to know all sides and then make up our minds. The result is mass ignorance, as is the result of the discussion on FR over the weekend that IR so well wrote about a little earlier on this thread.
Wow. Sorry I missed it. Apparently Gregory made another attempt to continue Tim Russert's legacy of running a balanced, unbiased show, with criticism of both sides. Can't have that, can we? Of course, to people who think that Keith Olbermann's is a news show who just reports the facts can't be expected to understand that.
Yeah. Air America...That was a big success, wasn't it. MSNBC should continue to employ people from that disaster. You know, just to see what happens....Bwahahahaha.
I quit watching Gotcha Gregory over a year and a half ago!
And my Sunday mornings are much more pleasant!
BTW: I believe it was 2 years ago June 13th that we lost Tim Russert! And I miss him MORE with each passing year!
Gregory is NO Tim Russert CU. Never was and never could be. Tim was a journalists, Gregory has become a talking head.
The difference between Tim Russert and David Gregory is HUGE. Russert moderated the debate without allowing either side to make false claims. Gregory tends to fan the controversial statements rather than make it an intelligent discussion about the facts.
Maybe I've got the wrong person but wasn't Mary Landrieu part of the response problem during Hurricane Katrina. Wasn't she Gov of Louisiana?
FR:
Bush was not constantly aware of anything while on vaction, most notably not on his month-long vacation in August 2001 when he ignored the warning that "Bin Laden was determined to attack inside the United States". Even when Bush was sitting in the White House he seemed to be on a "mental vacation" most of the time.
Houston -- You're much too kind to the former president. To be on "mental vacation," there first has to be something to vacate.
So sayeth GWB: "Is gas really at $4.00 per gallon?"
Tarryl Clark is going to be the new Heroine of the Democratic Party when she whips Bachmann Moron Overdrive, the nutcase queen of morons from Minnesota. Since Bachmann Moron Overdrive is an incumbent let's hope that the anti-incumbency trend sinks her little rowboat of lies. It's about time to get rid of the rightwing Shrieking Violet of the House and replace her with a real politician who cares about the people she represents. Tarryl is going in the right direction by tying Jerky Joe Barton's Bride of BP Oil to the mess in the Gulf. So funny how the dopes of nope are so tonedeaf that they defend BP Oil instead of their red state constituents, just goes to show the braindead deadbeats of those states that they've been voting for the wrong party of sore losers all along.
Tarryl Clark will whip Bachmann Moron Overdrive in November!
Annnnnnnnd I'm back! Thanks to all for your good wishes on my daughter's marriage. The wedding was lovely, outside by one of the prettiest lakes that exist here in MN. That Barton put into words what the Republican mantra is toward BP is a fact. I am curious why he got so much coverage and Boehener did not when he said that the taxpayers ought to clean up the mess. I also would not get excited about Bachmann getting defeated, I am sorry to say. Clark is going to have to brow beat Bachmann's constituents with how crazy she is. She is in this really odd little district, that has some real right wingers. The town that she is close to is often in the news for racism. (I hesitate to name that town because there are also some fine people that live there that are truly upset with that and with Bachmann.)
Welcome Back newdayDAWNIN - nice to see you!
Welcome back Newday: You were missed. A lovely outdoor wedding will hold memories for years to come.
Hi Newday, Welcome back we missed you. Glad everything went so well for your daughter's wedding.
Regarding Ms Bachmann, it is hard to understand that there are enough voters of like mind who would think this witch is worth a vote, it is also sad there are so many willing to hurt their country by sending people such as Bachmann and Barton to represent them. On the other hand, having spent some time over the weekend reading thru the over a thousand comments on FR on the topic of immigration, it shouldn't be hard to understand.
Thanks, Pat, Ron and Gingerbread Mamma: I still have the Irish band's rendition of "Haste to the Wedding" ringing in my ears. Had fun watching people try not to dance their way up the aisle.
Glad to see you Newday A big old Hill folk congrats to the blushing bride and hopes and prayers for a long and happy marriage for the new couple.
Thanks IR, I'll pass on your good wishes!
Hiya NewDay!
Good to have you back! Don't know if you heard or not but... Larry O' FINALLY got his own show on MSNBC following Rachel's (not sure when it starts though!)
Feisty,
I watched Larry O the other night. I cannot wait for his show. Two Air America Alumni back to back.
I did read about that and I am glad. It is long past due. Wish they would get a new Moderator on Meet the Press however, I simply cannot watch it any more.
Good to see you back. The wedding sounds so nice. Glad the weather cooperated. An outdoor wedding in Iowa right now would require boats.
Glad thinks went so well with the wedding!
Hi, Jody, and Nash: We had some difficult moments when we thought we might get rained out, but the luck of that resort held. They told me every time they make a contingency plan for rain, the rain goes away. And it did. My Irish family loved my youngest son's toast to his sister and husband in the auld language. Didn't know an American boy had it in him, no matter how Irish his antecedents.
That's pretty cool Newday, good for him.
Well isn't that just so special. This is what the Democrats have to offer for the fall elections? What some Texas Representative said during a hearing? You would think the Democrats would want to talk about how many jobs they have created (a negative 4 million since January/2009) how they have reduced the deficit (Obama's and the Democrats deficits are 4 times larger then those of Bush), how they have stopped terrorist attacks ( Ft. Hood, Detroit underpants bomber, and Times Square bomber), how they have closed Gitmo(still open), how they have enforced the regulations on the oil industry (Gulf oil spill), and how they have passed a so called health care reform bill 65% of the American people don't want.
Well, I guess that just does leave the Democrats with a comment a Texas Representative made during a hearing. I'm certain some voter in Ohio, or North Dakota, or Wisconsin will put a high priority on that comment when they enter the voting booth in November.
JoAnna,
Do us all a favor and tie some brightly colored ribbon to your backside. That way, when you are busy playing ostrich and listening to the echo chamber, the gardener will see your rump sticking out of the ground and may be able to avoid running the mower directly up your hiney.
Do the other kids in your 8th grade class laugh at that joke?
JoAnna,
Before you make a fool of yourself you really should read up on some of the facts and stop just spitting out your undigested talikng points. BTW, you better make it a big colored ribbion.
No CU, we are too busy trying to teach the Tea Baggers how to read...
And write a coherent idea and not something delusional.
And zero jobs were created over Bush's eight years of vacationing.
Obama has been doing a pretty decent job of cleaning up the economic mess, just as he is with most of the other messes that Bush created. This graph showing the recovery starting after Obama took office.
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/documents/2010/02/house-speaker-nancy-pelosi-compares-job-losses-under-presidents-obama-and-bush.php?page=1
This is an old graph. Jobs have been ADDED for several recent months.
The point is, why are you taking the side of the foreign CEO of a foreign corporation, instead of our president? Good luck with THAT!!
Disgusted-in-PA...
First Read is the echo chamber. The discussion here on Friday night about the Arizona illegal immigration law, and the Obama Administration's coming lawsuit against the state of Arizona, is an example of what it's like OUTSIDE the chamber.
Oh, so now there are "Sides"? Listen libs, BP screwed up, have admitted as much, and have put their money up to back up their claim that they will correct the problem. That's called taking responsibility and exercising leadership. And BPmay be a "foreign corporation", but over half their stock is held by US interests, so it would be really good if the company did not go bankrupt. "Our" President on the other hand has done what? Blamed BP, stopped the Gulf states from implementing plans to stop the oil from reaching their coasts, stopped foreign countries that have the resources to help from entering the Gulf, and has also tried to blame the Republicans for the problem. Does look like much in the way of leadership coming out of the White House.
If that's what it's like OUTSIDE the echo chamber, I'll stay here, thank you. I like Bugs Bunny, but the Looney Tunes hurt my ears.
The debate over the Arizona lawsuit was nothing, Anna Molly...
November's mid-terms are going to be the ultimate reality check.
And...First Read won't be a sheltered cove the morning after Election Day.
I for one was involved with that 'debate' on Friday, and I can tell you that 90% of the posts were no more than talking points. I had one detractor challenge me about driver's licenses (which is NOT proof of citizenship, by the way) and while he was berating me, he looked it up for himself.
Then there was quiet...
After a few hours in the thick of the debate, I found I was repeating myself over and over again. I have to say I was QUITE surprised at how UNINFORMED people are. They ASSUMED that their driver's licence was proof of citizenship and I just shudder at what these poor slobs who will be driving around in AZ after the law goes into effect will be facing. Many will be arrested and detained.
On a personal note, I was able to hold my own pretty well against all of that (thanks for the kudos, Independent Redneck), but as one other poster on here, Kevin, remarked on Sunday - trying to talk with people who have made up their minds is a waste of time. Sometimes people have to find out the HARD WAY for themselves. What they THINK they are getting themselves into is not always the case.
So be it.
Maybe not, but I'll be here, just the same. If only for amusement value. To see you eat crow. ;)
Yes Pietro you did a fine job!
You have much more patience than I do as the repetition of lies were rampant! And the HATE & racism was deafening! What's amazing is they don't even attempt to cover it up - they wear it like some kind of "teabagger' badge or something!
The stuck on stupid crowd certainly was on FULL display!
Pietro-
Good to see you back in one piece.
Last time I saw you, you had as many arrows in your backside as a trooper at the Little Bighorn.
Guess the polling on the popularity of the Arizona lawsuit has been pretty accurate, judging from Friday night's festivities.
Ooops. That was for Bag Boy, not Pietro. So be it, indeed.
Feisty, my love-
Again...for the umpteenth time.
Dissent did not become race-based hatred on Inauguration Day, January 20th, 2009.
You're starting to sound like Tweety, for heavenssake!
OUR President has taken steps to protect taxpayers and the Gulf coast residents by getting up-front dollars from BP which should they go bankrupt cannot be impacted. BP gets no sympathy from me nor do its stockholders--investors take the risk along with the company taking the risk to cut corners, ignore warnings and continue drilling until it blew up. BP has a checkered past in safety with many deaths along the way.
As for the US suing AZ, that's old news refreshed by Clinton. It was reported weeks ago that the DOJ would be looking into the constitutionality of the AZ law and might file suit.
Pietro:
Don't pat yourself on the back too much. I saw where that lawyer ate your azz up. You didn't want any part of him and he was throwing out facts.
As for talking points in that discussion: ALL OF YOU were doing it. Just repeating the same shiznit over and over.
ITM, I haven't gotten back to him yet. The fact of the matter is that I have to VERIFY what he is saying. Also, the fact that he wears his JD on his sleeve gives me pause. So, just because that 'lawyer' was throwing stuff out there does NOT mean it is true. It MAY be, but until I verify it then I take it is 'shiznit'.
JoAnna: http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/documents/2010/02/house-speaker-nancy-pelosi-compares-job-losses-under-presidents-obama-and-bush.php?page=1
Not surprising that repugnant one Mark Kirk has lied about his teaching credentials, he's lied for years about his military service. Time for the voters of Illinois to beam down Liar Kirk because he's not honest intelligent life. So funny that the repugnant ones have fielded so many flawed candidates this year thinking they can take back control of Congress with a bunch of Teahadist Paliban liars and thieves.
I watched the Rahm interview. He did a good job pointing out the connection between GOP words today and past actions and he did so with easy to understand examples. Joe Barton, Bachman, Boehner, Gingrich have all made similar statements recently siding with BP but in the past, others like Cornyn have been more subtle. It's a philosophy I recognized when Reagan became president.
As I said last week, the right's zealous determination to be against any and all things Obama has suddenly blown up in their faces--they inadvertently gave voice to what they really believe and did so with such complete stupidity that it is amazing. The words they speak are their ideology--private industry rules especially the big giants. In the past, this part of the GOP ideas was lost in the words of taxes and private industry freedoms, deregulation--they were able to paint it as "good for people". Joe Barton told us what "good for people" really means to them and what they think about the average person: apologize to BP because President Obama succeeded in getting for the Gulf coast residents what really matters to them--help and income for the harm caused.
It's impossible to gloss Barton's remarks as anything but stupid and a complete lack of comprehension regarding the environmental and economic disaster that is BP's Deep Water Horizon explosion. Richard Shelby and others GOPers have tried to say that it was just Barton's personal opinion but when others like Bachman, Palin, Gingrich are saying the same thing--it says what the GOP really believes and no amount of back peddling and apologies will cover that truth: Barton apologized to BP because President Obama is holding BP accountable, not the taxpayer, for the damage they have caused.
Leisure Time. The topic is frivolous and proof that everything is political and the chatter has become nuts; all criticism and no substance. Michael Steele thinks that criticizing Obama's game of golf will shift focus from Joe Barton and company--wrong. So what if Pres Obama played golf--he deserves some downtime, too, just as Bush did. Bush spent a month in Crawford every August; Obama has taken a couple week to 10 day vacations. Every president can continue running the country from wherever they are. I doubt seriously that many Americans feel a round of golf over the weekend is newsworthy. As for Tony Hayward, does it matter that he was seen yachting? He was relieved of his duties in this country last week and he has his life back--bad timing and poor PR but he doesn't work in the US any more.
Owner the right to extract oil from the wells is the company licensed to prospecting and extraction, a company mechanism of an risk of exploitation, the parent company serves as the company is considered the main wells in the responsibility for what caused exploration, extraction and transport by sea or ground damages against the State or individuals, no matter how the damage size and can not be departure from the rule base, the distribution of the damage on the Atv among the beneficiaries of the oil extraction operations are loss of responsibilities and open up to circumvent the rules of responsibility and the transfer of the rules of absolute responsibility to the rules of comparative responsibility lost her rights and delayed treatment with damages arising from the risk of exploitation
Think Progress:
President Obama will likely discuss “a climate change component” to energy legislation “that caps carbon emissions only from electric utilities” when he meets with a bipartisan group of senators this week. “The idea of a ‘utilities only’ [approach] will also be welcomed,” White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel told the Wall Street Journal, emphasizing that “a wide range of ideas will be discussed.”
WILL BE DISCUSSED. That's what it takes. Discussion. Thoughtful input from everybody. Not emotional let's please everybody RIGHT NOW crap that is all over the place.
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/opinions/view/opinion/5-Results-of-Israel-Easing-Gaza-Blockade-4059/
Israel says it will now permit more goods into Gaza, easing the three-year blockade but still blocking "weapons and materials that Hamas uses." The new Gaza policy comes after Israel announced on Thursday that it would ease its land blockade restrictions. What exactly Israel plans for "liberalizing the system by which civilian goods enter Gaza" remains unclear as the country has not specified what goods will remain prohibited. Israel has previously taken a broad view of what it calls "dual use" items, such as concrete or construction tools, that they say could be used to produce weapons. Here are the possible effects of the blockade loosening.
It's a step, a good one.
Jerky Joe Barton has been a boon to political cartoonists with his gift of apologizing to BP Oil for President Obama's rightful shaking down of BP Oil to pay for the cost of cleaning up their mess. Isn't it ironic that President Obama, a Democrat, is the one who is standing up to protect the red state righties from their own stupidity of allowing offshore oil drilling without proper regulations and oversight while the dopes of nope protect BP Oil, the corrupt corporate monster who made the big mess in the first place?
I enjoyed one political cartoon that showed the repugnant one's elephant lashed to a big BP Oil whale and it's saying that America owes BP Oil an apology. Then this morning there's a cartoon with Jerky Joe Barton standing on a beach with oil soaked birds, fish and dolphins laying about and Black Barton is saying "and you owe BP an apology for soaking up it's oil". Yeah the dopes of nope aren't going to live down Black Barton's despicable apology and rest assured Democrats aren't going to let up on keeping their bootheels on the throat of the dopes of nope who would rather protect BP Oil than their own red state constituents who are too stupid to see who's really got their back.
Impeach Jerky Joe Barton!
I disagree with your impeach Joe Barton Eric, he's not through making stupid statements yet. The media just needs to keep a microphoe on him, it won't take long.
Joe Barton ~ proof positive for skeptics like me that there IS a God after all, and God is a democrat. Now if only democrats could take what God has handed them and do something with it, like pass comprehensive energy legislation and picking up a few seats in Congress.
As for republicans lying about their military service, why should anyone be surprised? Their lips were moving weren't they?
Over the weekend. . .
The White House announced that it would make a decision on where to try the mastermind of 9/11-AFTER the mid-term elections;
The White House decryed Tony Hayward attending a yacht race-while Obama was golfing;
Obama announced that his theme this summer will be "the summer of recovery'-no one should be reminded of his failure to fulfill LAST summer's promise to add 600,000 jobs due to the stimulous package;
and. . .Rahm Emmanuel unveiled ANOTHER surefire plan to thwart the republicans chances in November. I stopped counting after the first few dozen, which were all abandoned as being useless. Gallup has the highest level of republican enthusiasm since-ever. It is actually higher than in '94.
Bad times for Obama and the Dems. Bad times for our country. Hopefully, a change in the leadership of both Houses will begin to set things right.
*yawn*
Mornin' no joe.
NJNB, could ya at least turn the page on that script. At least treat us to a NEW set of the same old tired talking points...
It'll never happen Disgusted
You do know according to Allblow the President's going to resign now didn't ya? LOL
Hate to have to disagree with you Feisty. The President will be impeached for his handling of the Gulf disaster. There will be no need for him to resign, the right will take over Congress in November, Rush will be appointed king, and there will be dancing in the streets. Of Moscow.
Damn Disgusted! I HATE it when you're right! ;0) My bad!
Same old rant coming out of the mouth of no joe all blow. Nothing new to see here people just move along. We'll be waiting for your same old tired rant tomorrow no joe all blow. Although we'd be disappointed if we didn't hear how President Obama will resign or be impeached and how the leadership will change after November.
Question no joe all blow, what are you going to rant about after November when Obama is still President and the Democrats add to their majorities? It will be interesting to watch no joe all blow.
Yes Mo!
Her, Mixed Nuts and the rest of the Beckerheads hair will be on fire!
America certainly does have a choice in 2010. We can allow the Democrats to continue their extreme leftist positions to over regulate, over tax and over govern and have the US under-perform on the world markets. Or we can bring some sanity to the extreme left wing leadership of the country and elect people that know the true answer to American success is the hardworking people of the country, and is not about a bunch of no-load Democrat politicians like Obama, Reid, and Pelosi. The Democrats ran on this 'Hopey/Changey' fluff in 2008. We all see how that's worked out. In November it's time for a real change.
JoAnna,
I do not see that ribbon on your backside. You better hope the gardeners are paying attention to what they are mowing...
You teabaggers really don't have much to cling to do you JoAnnSmith, all you've got is wait till November. Except for your guns and religion but that doesn't get you vary far.
Joanna,
Haver YOUR taxes increased?
How has over-regulation negatively affected you?
How do you feel that you are "over-governed?"
What are your thoughts, as they related to same-sex marriages and a womans right to choose?
Do you feel that gays and women requesting abortions are "over-governed?"
Ted,
Thank you for an insightful and spot on post. I know that JoAnna will simply stick her head back in the ground but it was sure nice to see an intelligent and reasoned post refuting completely the falsity of the people making most of these arguments.
It is not about what is good for America. They are more interested in resisting the agenda of a black man and of having the pleasure of being part of a "team". If I am delusional and surround myself with sane people, my delusional behavior is blatantly obvious. If I am delusional and surround myself with nut jobs that agree with me and support my twisted logic and flawed belief system, I look like part of a "movement" that has people sitting up and taking us seriously.
It is rather telling that the sham media on ALL sides is simply exploiting this for ratings without a single analysis or expose on HOW and WHAT this does to the future of America. Much like with our energy crisis, we cannot see the long term issues and take action because we have idiots screaming so loudly about issues that mean NOTHING ( the birthers for example) that we are losing our ability to focus on real issues and take decisive action that is NEEDED to save us from ourselves.
So JoAnnaSmith, how's that "all deregulation, all the time" platform worked out over the last 30 years? Pretty successful if you count decades of stagnating incomes, the Savings & Loan crisis, the tech bubble, the real estate bubble, two stock bubbles, 70% of the ENTIRE national debt accumulated under Presidents Reagan and 2 Bushes, collapse of the airline industry, collapse of the entire world economy, and 2 record-setting oil spills in US territorial waters as success.
Of course a lot of wealth was created...virtually all of it went into the pockets of the top 5% while everyone else languished, but at least someone did well.
It's time to expose the religious right who are always wrong for what they are, intolerant liars and thieves. It's really sickening to see some claim this new right is something new, no it's just a new label for the same old evangelical christian lunatic fringers who have been trying to destroy our Secular Democracy so they can set up their own christian perversion of Iran.
Yesterday I was disgusted with Chris Jansing doing a story about atheists putting up advertising advertising a break from religion and the atheist lady was saying how they get so much harrassment from the christian fanatics who don't want any dissension regarding their religious nuttiness. Then Chris Jansing starts arguing with the atheist lady thus proving her point and I switched channels and never watched another second of MSNBC tv news yesterday. Won't be watching Chris Jansing ever again.
The religious right is all wrong for our country and it's time we put a stop to these religious nutcases who want to take control of our government and then use it to cram their worthless religion down our throats. Our Founding Fathers did not make a mistake in putting up the cherished Separation of Church and State concept as that is the only way to ensure we do not become slaves to religious leaders like the people of Iran are forced to endure. Now we see the religious right try to put outright lies into textbooks trying to defame Separation of Church and State and they try to paint our Founding Fathers as some kind of biblethumping dogooders.
The book that was being talked about in taverns right before the American Revolution that inspired our ancestors to revolt against the British Aristocracy wasn't the bible, it was Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" pamphlet that outsold the bible during those times. You won't find the Liberal ideals of freedom of speech, expression or thought in the bible, nope the bible preaches blind obedience to one big book of religious lies. You won't find the Liberal ideals of Liberty in the bible either. When the darkest days of the American Revolution were upon our Founding Fathers they found salvation and inspiration not in the bible but in another of Thomas Paine's Liberal pamphlets "The American Crisis" where he warned us of the Sunshine Patriots who wish to do nothing but show up to celebrate the victory without doing any of the fighting to achieve it.
The Teahadist Paliban religious wrong are our new Sunshine Patriots who wish to have all the rights, liberties and freedoms of our Secular Democracy but who don't want to do anything to ensure them by paying their fair share of taxes.
A world without religion would be far better than what we have now as religion is the root of all evil and the cause of all our wars. Just look at the strife caused by religion because too many people who are stupid enough to believe religious myths are true then argue like children about who's god is better.
Hey Ron
I can make the same arguments about corn-based ethanol. I keep seeing that all the renewables are ready for prime time if we could only use the "man-on-the-moon" or another Manhattan Project. Problem is we can't change the laws of physics/economics, and you come with the same solution as always...if we throw money at the problem it will be solved. Well how much have we spent trying to cure cancer, aids, poverty.......
How about we just remove tax breaks for all fuel...oil, ethanol, solar, wind etc.... and see where the chips fall?
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Ethanol certainly has been a huge failure. Just like with GM, the only reason Ethanol keeps going is because the government subsidizes it so much. As Obama continues the moratorium on deep drilling in the Gulf, the rigs that provide for that drilling are moving on to greener pastures as it were. When the moratorium is lifted, if ever, the rigs will be in by Brazil and Africa drilling for oil, and the US will be without the oil, and the tens of thousands of jobs that go with it. Liberals love to cry and whine that "We have to move to a solar and wind energy system", but they can't understand the science to do so does not exist. But that's what being a liberal is all about, whining about something, and letting someone else do the hard work to make it happen.
JoAnna did it maybe occur to you'll naysayers that maybe the reason why Ethanol is not is successful as it could be is because of the huge amounts of money that the Corporate farmers take from the Fed to keep corn prices propped up. Same with sugar. Brazil has been very successful by using their domestic sugar cane production without resorting to these kinds of things. As far as Oil rigs going back to third world countries that's going to happen anyway moratorium or not if we let them start back to just drilling and rigidly apply the regulations that are already on the books. Why do it right if you can pay off somebody to allow you to cut corners .
Independent...is this new news? Is there actual corruption, instead of incompetence, at MMS? I presume if there is a criminal bribery investigation ongoing you have a link to the report? Or are you just making @!$%# up?
The problem you describe is political. The real problem is with the physics. The problem IR is that there is no alternative energy other then oil, and nuclear (more later) that can provide the amount of energy that is required both in the US, and the world. The earth would need to be covered with sugar cane and corn to provide even a small percentage of the world energy needs. The physics of those energy sources just doesn't provide for that much energy per unit when compared to oil. The fact remains, there exists no energy source other then oil that will provide that type of energy. The only other source that can provide that amount of energy is in fact nuclear energy. And how many decades has it been since the US built a new plant? And who has prevented those plants from being built? The answers to those questions will tell you who is interested in producing energy for the world.
Ever occur to anyone that the reason ethanol has not done better is the OIL money being used to denounce it--corn farmer voices are not as loud as big oil.
Ethanol is not the future but it is a start; using renewable products to create fuel. The Wright brothers plane didn't fly very long but it was a start.
So Joanne,
What you're saing, in essence, is "Because it's hard, we shouldn't do anything about it?"
Is that really your philosiphy on life?
What happens to us when the Oil runs out. Your children's children WILL be dealilng with this question if we don't get ahead of the finite resource that oil is.
JoAnna I would respectfully beg to differ with you.I'll just give you one or two for instances. Natural gas provides more Energy than oil per gallon and a diesel engine can be converted to run on it very easily. We have a large enough supply domestically to fuel us for the foreseeable future,. Also burns cleaner. I just gave a young lady a scholarship to Va. tech where one of the things that she will be working on is a pilot program to convert switch grass( a weed) to diesel. I have a group of High school seniors working out at my farm right now working on their project which is to convert a tractor to run on waste vegetable oil. All of these things are very possible if one simply has the will to try instead of just throwing up their hands and giving up
"...if we throw money at the problem it will be solved." We haven't thrown nearly as much money at the energy problem as we have at trying to make western-loving democracies "bloom like wildflowers" throughout the Middle East. Energy research is certainly more worthy of the money, and basic research is more likely to bear fruit, too. See, the problem with the argument that we should just use oil until something becomes cheaper is that it sets us on a collision course with the future. A finite supply of oil, certainty of increasing costs, time and money required to develop and implement alternatives, and environmental effects of fossil fuels are all things that require us to start NOW, not 10, 20, 30 years in the future when we're already in deep trouble.
Here we are again stating as fact the ridiculous concept that if we stop drilling for a safety review no one will ever drill for oil in the Gulf again. Capital will flow to where there's money to be made, end of story. "Yeah, but these rigs are really expensive" you'll reply. Yeah, and when the large, integrated steel producers failed "mini-mills" started turning out steel all over the country. Then of course the free-marketers prevailed and cheap, imported steel was allowed to be dumped in this country, destroying most of the remaining steel industry.
What was repeatedly brushed over by MSNBC on various accounts of the Joe Barton "Misconstrue" flap (including Rahm's attempt to broaden Barton's comments to include the GOP in general) was that Barton lifted precisely the same "slush fund" verbage from text published one day earlier by a campaign organization consisting of a large number (if not a majority) of Republican office-holders.
It is this that forms the basis for Emanual's comments and makes them more substantive than just one more bit of campaign rhetoric.
Final thought - GOP campaign positions come straight out of the same playbook from California when GOP-supported Enron nearly bankrupted the state and cost Democratic governor Gray Davis his job. Across the spectrum of issues ranging from Military Involvement to Financial Collapse to the Gulf Oil Spill, the pattern is identical:
Republicans blame the Democrats for not cleaning up fast enough - the mess the Republicans created in the first place.
In 2012 we'll really see leisure suit activities become a real political issue as the repugnant ones hold their convention in Tampon Bay, the lap dance and death metal music capital of the country. No doubt Bondage Club Patron Michael Steele wanted to ensure that his RNC perverts have lots of fun with their perverted family values.
I hope the media makes a point of finding the rightwing whiners who cry about President Obama taking a well deserved day off here and there taking days off on the links and elsewheres. Let's see aren't golf courses where big business people make big business deals? While golf is an elitist sport it's certainly big with the rightwing crowd since so many white men play it, though one black man tends to rule it. So I wonder why the rightwing crowd who love golf don't like Barack playing it, could it be that they don't like black men not named Tiger playing it? You Betcha!
Certainly Tony Baloney Wayward Hayward really made a bad impression getting his rich and greedy lifestyle back aboard an elitist yacht. That definitely shows us "small people" where we stand with him and BP Oil doesn't it? Don't hear the repugnant ones dissing Tony Baloney for going yachting the way they bash Obama for getting in a round of golf to keep himself in shape.
Tony Baloney Hayward is the Real Leisure Suit Larry!
JoAnna,
Listen to your leaders. Sarah Palin said the spill was because "Obama did not regulate enough.
Over regulate or not enough regulation. Two different views coming out of the GOP.
Shows how confused they are!
The regulations to find the problems with the deep water rig were in place, but were not enforced. And yet we have Obama spending nearly half of his Oval Office speech last week telling America we need more regulations. The man is a farce, fake, and a fraud. He tells us "The govenment is here to protect you". Do you feel protected sandy? Terrorists attacks, 10% unemployment, regulators looking the other way to get political favor, deficits that spend our childrens children money. There is no confusion sandy, the country clearly sees what a loser Obama and the Democrats are.
Joanna,
Yes, I feel protected. Until, I hear a GOP open their mouth. Then says some scary stuff.
JoAnna,
I really want to know what it is you are smoking. I would love to get some of that!
Yes, there were regulations on the books at the time of the explosion. But, let's look at what the MMS and YOUR heroes Bush/Cheney did to those regulations. Instead of requiring a full safety inspection and a full environmental impact report BEFORE receiving a permit, your heroes modified the regs to require that ALL decisions be made within 30 days. As such, there was no way that any real safety inspections or environmental impact reports could be completed within 30 days so the MMS routinely awarded the permits subject to a waiver since they could not comply with the modified regulations. How is that for being on top of things? Obama and the people he had in place at MMS could not enforce the regulations as the regulations had been crippled since the days of Bush/CHeney and all their cronies being named to the top positions in the organization that COULD have done something to prevent this BEFORE it occurred.
Now, because of this de-regulation and crippled statutes, there is a toxic volcano in the Gulf that continues to spew as we type here. What are those that are responsible for coddling big oil and ensuring that there was NO effective oversight on their precious cash-cow multi-billion dollar conglomerates doing now? Desperately attempting to divert attention from where the problems stem from and hoping to pin this on Obama somehow for not doing enough.
Well, I would agree that Obama has not done enough. He has not directed the Justice Department to open investigations into Cheney and his secret energy meetings, he has not filed criminal actions (yet) against BP and those responsible for the corner cutting on safety and disaster response.
Oh, and JoAnna, before you burst your spleen venting about how Obama has done nothing to stop the leak or mitigate the damage via containment, wasn't it BP and not Obama that filed voluminous documents purporting how a spill is impossible and, if it ever DID occur, they were perfectly confident in their ability to handle a leak FIVE TIMES the size of the one we have without ANY impact to the environment or wildlife. Obama has been desperately attempting to get those responsible for the leak (and the ONLY ones on the PLANET with the technology to even address the problem) to implement the plan they so widely touted as their justification for drilling deeper than ever in areas where they had NO ideas or ability to solve this problem. The plan even lists an expert to be called in the event of a catastrophe like this and offers his contact info. Too bad he has been dead for five years BEFORE the documents were filed with the MMS. Oh, and let's not forget the lengths BP went to in their "disaster recovery plans" to protect the walruses and seals that are so vital to the fishing industry in the Gulf areas.
Yeah, JoAnna, I really love the way you drink the kool aid without any independent thought or verification and then run right back into the yard and stick your head in the sand and scream in the hole so you cannot hear the voice of reason OR the lawnmower that is about to crawl up your butt since you are STILL posting your nonsensical echo chamber rantings without a bright colored ribbon proclaiming your illiteracy and inability to form an independent thought or actually have a lucid discussion based on FACTS and not on your right wing bull@!$%#.
"Well, I would agree that Obama has not done enough. He has not directed the Justice Department to open investigations into Cheney and his secret energy meetings, he has not filed criminal actions (yet) against BP and those responsible for the corner cutting on safety and disaster response."
Would the investigation into Cheney's secret meetings be followed by an investigation into Obama's secret Pharma meeting? I would like to know what was promised to both groups.
You mean Obama's meting to discuss exactly how many billions were handed over to big Pharma with Bush's wonderfully expensive (oh, and unfunded) Medicare Part D? You know, the one where the Repugnant Ones followed their illustrious leader in mandating that there would be NO negotiations or ability to extract a volume discount for taking care of the millions of elderly that depend on their drugs? If I recall, it was the same piece of s*^&, er legislation that also made it illegal to import cheaper canadian versions of the exact same drugs Bush & Co. made sure to mandate would be paying at least three times more for?
Yeah, I am happy to open up ALL of Obama's actions to intense judicial scrutiny. Are all you right wing blowhards willing to subject YOUR hero to the same level of judicial scrutiny? Yeah, I thought so. If you are not willing to open up the entire Bush/Cheney legacy to investigations, how about you all STFU and allow the President that was duly elected and, much to your chagrin, represents ALL Americans. Now, either stand behind the office, even if you cannot stand the occupant, and let's all pull TOGETHER to navigate our way out of these precarious and very challenging times.
No. I was actually talking about the meeting where the Obama administration agreed to KEEP the fact that there would be no volume discounts or importation. I believe this was also the meeting where the drug companies would subsidize patients with their own product to get them through a smaller donut hole so that they could get back to charging the full price to the tax payer, instead of using generics.
I don't know who you think my hero is but you can be sure its not George W Bush who is still the worst president in my living memory, and yes if you want to open him up to judicial scrutiny go ahead and waste the last two years of this administration.
BTW...are you schizophrenic? You tend to argue with yourself when posting.
Alan,
Maybe I am delusional here but I was not aware that Obama was the President when Medicare Part D was rammed through the congress. This is still 2010 right? What galaxy do you inhabit anyway?