Today in Obamaville - August 6

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Liberal Environmentalists Condemn Mother Earth for Gulf Oil Clean Up

The liberal environmentalists have condemned the amazing job done by Mother Earth to cleanup the mess caused by people in the Gulf BP oil spill. The release by the White House of a detailed scientific analysis of the status of the oil spill, in which government scientists and private environmental consultants admit 75% of the oil is now gone from the Gulf, has enraged the far left environmentalists who will not get years of government subsidies to study the long term effects of no oil on the Gulf.

The report says 25 percent of the spill has been recovered or removed, another 25 percent has been dispersed, and another 25 percent has been evaporated or dissolved. Mother Earth has microbes in the oceans that dissolve much of the junk mankind dumps as well as takes care of accidental or natural oil leaks in the waters of the world. She has been doing this for millions of years. When the water temperature gets warmer more microbes eat away at the waste.



Right now the Gulf is at record high temperatures thanks to the heat wave provided by Mother Earth. Simple logic says high temperatures create more microbes that eat more oil. It is just as likely that even more than 25 percent of the leak was dissolved by Mother Earth, far more than mankind has done.

The leak has been sealed, now it is time to let nature take her course with a little help from continued clean up by BP. What the people of the Gulf need is people telling the world that they should be going to the beaches, eating Gulf seafood and be happy that thanks to the stunning efforts of Mother Earth the doom and gloom forecasts will not happen.



MSNBC Features Donny Deutsch - New Cast Member for Jersey Shore?

Our favorite hotbed for liberal media propaganda, MSNBC, allowed advertising bad boy Donny Deutsch back on the Morning Joe Show after twice jerking the legend in his own mind off the air for mindless bad taste. His new image of tight tee shirts to show off his bulging muscles in order to make this wannabe cast member for the Jersey Shore more desirable to the women of MSNBC just doesn't work.



As he continues to fight the midlife crisis, he is 53 and not a Hamptons playboy anymore, he pumps iron, continues to insult women and has gone from Armani suits to painted on tee shirts. His first effort to be the TV star he knows he is, was a show on CNBC that promptly got cancelled. It was just the beginning of controversy for the bionic tongue.

On February 22, 2010, Deutsch, a self-described Democrat, called Florida's Cuban-American Senate candidate Marco Rubio the racially derogatory term "coconut" on The Joy Behar Show. On April 27, 2010, MSNBC suspended him from appearances on their programming for including MSNBC hosts Keith Olbermann and Ed Schultz in his Angry Americans special.

Deutsch began appearing on MSNBC programs again on June 4, 2010 but weeklong anchoring stint on MSNBC by Donny ended abruptly when he made unflattering mention of that channel’s No. 1 anchor and liberal, Keith Olbermann. Mr. Deutsch had labeled his hour on MSNBC “America the Angry,” and Mr. Olbermann was shown briefly in a series of clips of media figures during a segment that pondered what role the media plays in fomenting the public’s anger.



Just a couple of weeks ago on the "Morning Joe." show he was the only panelist to decry Sarah Palin's inspiring new video designed to galvanize conservative women for the midterm elections, an act that puzzled even his liberal colleagues. New York Times writer Andrew Ross Sorkin and Time magazine's Mark Halperin interjected to refute Deutsch, but the determined advertising guru just talked over them: "Listen to me! The American public wants more than 'I protect my cubs' ''.

As described in other media at the time, "With all the subtlety of an air horn, Deutsch revealed the source of his visceral antipathy for Palin: "I'm a Democrat, I really hope she's going to do Iowa and she's going to win South Carolina and she's the party's candidate because she's unelectable."

My advice to NBC in their continuing efforts to figure out what to do with him to keep his ad clients buying network spots is to get him a role as a mentor on the Jersey Shore cast where the sizzling lip from current cast may silence him once and for all. Maybe the kids on Jersey Shore will teach him to finally grow up.



Obama Travels to Ford Factory to Declare Ford Success due to his Auto Bailout

Yesterday President Obama finally made it to a Ford plant, I mean Ford is the most successful auto company in America, and tried to take credit for Ford's success as a result his multi billion dollar auto bailout. Did the president forget that Ford refused to take any bailout money from Obama for the auto bailout, which really was a union bailout that left the union and federal government owning GM and Chrysler?



No financial analyst in the world attributes Ford's dramatic success to not taking Obama's bailout money yet the White House does. I doubt anyone on Main Street will buy the twisted logic either but the Obama gang continues to think the America public is just plain stupid and that is a huge mistake. All he had to do was talk about the success of Ford, their executives, the productivity of their workers, the concessions of their unions and their new product lines and avoid trying to politicize a good thing, but avoiding partisan politics is not on Obama's teleprompter.



New Economic Report can't find Stimulus from the Stimulus

Today's employment report showed that the billions being thrown into so called Obama stimulus has failed to stimulate much of anything in the economy as unemployed went up, the unemployment rate did not go down, the stimulated banks aren't doing anything to stimulate the economy, the government laid off 202,000 while the private sector hired 71,000. After over a trillion dollars in stimulus spending it seems the economy has been pumped full of Valium and remains in a stupor. Maybe the Democrats should try something else?



Elena Kagan Approved for Supreme Court - Harvard wins Again

In yet another example of the Harvard stranglehold on the Obama government Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan was approved by the Senate as the next member of the Supreme Court. It is the first time three women have served together on the court.

Kagan is the fifth Harvard law school grad currently serving, while Yale has three and Columbia has one although the Columbia grad, Ginsberg, also attended Harvard law school. I suppose Harvard will say there are 5 1/2 justices from Harvard. One might note that this gives the three Ivy League schools total control of the Supreme Court.



The Supreme Court reflection on religion in America is just as dramatic as gender and the Ivy League law schools. America is the citadel of religious freedom in the world. There are now about 4,200 different types of religion and over 100 major religions in the world.

There are now 6 Catholics and 3 Jews on the Supreme Court. Of course Catholics are the largest religious denomination in America and the world and the Jews are one of the smallest and since the Catholics are a direct offshoot of the Jews about 2,000 years ago I suppose it is no wonder all 9 came from the same religious lineage.

The CPT was the first newspaper to endorse Kagan long ago because she was a female, has a great sense of humor, she smiles more than all the rest put together, and she has a great softball swing.

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News Headlines of the Day in Obamaville

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Pelosi and her Swamp

When Nancy Pelosi was swept into her House Leadership position four years ago she promised to "drain the swamp" in Washington of corruption. Four years later the only swamp that was drained was two top Democratic party leaders Rangel and Waters, both members of the Congressional Black Caucus, so Nancy has had to redefine what she meant by draining the swamp.

In a burst of pre-election insight she now says she meant, "The swamp was described in the press as a 'criminal syndicate' operating out of the Republican leader's office." Now that is a pretty major charge for the Leader of the House and a person a heartbeat away from being president.

Of course after four years of her witch hunt for criminal syndicate Republicans none have been charged with anything while her own party leaders have been charged and are going to trial so one might say Ms. Pelosi is playing politics with ethics and is delusional with the facts. It's no wonder just 11% of the people have a favorable opinion of Congress.



Obama's Birthday

Today is Obama's 49th birthday and he is celebrating it with the boys in California while his wife, Michelle scheduled a last minute junket to a posh resort in Southern Spain along with 30-40 $2,000 rooms at a Spanish resort for her family and friends. Why is the First Family halfway around the world spending hundreds of thousands of taxpayers dollars instead of celebrating with the President at home? Rumor has it she is fed up with Barack's emulation of Clinton's presidential style, at least the parts not involving Clinton's bi-partisan work with Republicans.



BP Oil Leak

The Obama administration has defied liberal environmentalists once again and trial lawyers for the first time by releasing a report today that 75% of the oil that leaked into the Gulf is gone and the rest is widely dispersed and no longer a threat to cause cataclysmic environmental destruction. That does not bode well with the environmentalists who claim the Gulf was destroyed by the spill and that we must allocate billions of dollars for future research by them to find the missing oil.;

Nor does it sit well with the Trial lawyers, the largest special interest contributor to Obama's presidential campaign, who expected to make billions of dollars in legal fees suing BP and everyone else for the disaster. Since Obama already protected them during the acrimonious health care debate by refusing to limit excessive medical malpractice legal fees and fines, they expected a better return on their investment in Obama.



Will Obama Oil Drilling Ban be Lifted?

As the weeks roll on and nothing has been done to resolve the Obama ban on deep sea drilling, that has also literally blocked all offshore drilling, and the Obama administration's own scientific report says the environmental damage is far less severe than previously claimed, there is growing distress in the Gulf states who stand to lose thousands of jobs that are going to other countries where offshore drilling is encouraged.

Alternative energy advocates have held the drilling ban hostage as a way to block oil production and get federal approval for the massive energy cap and trade legislation Obama wants that will force a huge increase in taxes and in the cost of gasoline and all other oil products. Of course Al Gore and Goldman Sachs, also big Obama campaign backers, are poised to make billions of dollars from the cap and trade initiative and are desperate to protect heir investment.



State's Rights versus Obama Centralized Government

Arizona has been joined by 19 other states in fighting the Obama Justice Department efforts to deny states the right to protect their citizens from illegal immigration costs and crime.



Virginia and Michigan are pursuing separate court challenges to the Obama health care experiment saying it is unconstitutional for the federal government to force their citizens to buy health insurance against their will, especially if they have the ability to pay for it.

As Obama moves closer and closer to the massive federal government he has advocated in order to pursue his often stated goals of redistribution of wealth and expanded control over all sectors of the economy and banking system expect more and more challenges by the states to protect their Constitutional rights.

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The BP Oil Leak - Where is it taking us?

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What if they are not telling us the whole truth about the oil spill? We already were told first by the Coast Guard that the spill was 1,000 barrels a day. Then BP said 5,000 a day, followed by increases to 12,000 to 20,000, 40,000, and now they are planning on recovering 53,000 barrels of 60,000 that are spewing out.

Current scientific estimates range up to 100,000 a day and the BP "worst case" estimate in their permit was for 162,000. That means the actual flow rate could be between 100,000 and 162.000 a day, or 20 to 32 times more than they first estimated (5,000).



So will the two relief holes be able to block off a leak 20 - 32 times larger than originally thought? That might explain why two relief holes instead of one were necessary from the beginning. If the oil flow rate is approaching 100,000 barrels it might be too much pressure for one or even two relief holes to stop the spill.

So what if they fail to seal off the leak? Well first off BP will be salvaging oil at a rate of about 55,000 barrels a day. No one seems to be paying attention to the fact that salvaged oil, that captured as part of the clean up, means there is lost royalty revenue that would have eventually streamed into federal government coffers (and partially shared with Gulf states) from the production of oil and gas at the site.



BP's lease to drill on the outer continental shelf means the company would have paid an 18.75 percent royalty to the federal government for all produced oil and gas. At a capture rate of 55,000 barrels a day the oil is worth at today's price for crude ($78.22), a total of $43 million a day. The lost royalty is about $8 million a day. Not a bad revenue stream and royalty savings for the company. The irony is BP was not even going to produce oil from the well, just cap it for future production. Most of the deep water wells being built are for future production.

Another interesting fact is that the highest production well flow rates for land or sea drilling are about 25,000 barrels a day. If the BP spill is around 100,000 barrels a day that is almost five times more oil than the best producing oil wells in the world. I suspect that means BP has a financial windfall from the royalty free oil. The $43 million a day revenue could offset the estimated clean up cost for BP which is now over $23 billion. Viewed another way, it would take one and one-half years of capturing the oil to equal $23 billion.



So what happens if they cannot seal the leak with the relief wells? The answer is rather foreboding. You see a failure to seal the leak may result in an increase in the flow rate to 100,000 barrels or more a day. Oceanographer John Kessler said that the crude gushing from the well contains 40 percent methane, compared to about 5 percent found in typical oil deposits. Methane is a natural gas that could potentially suffocate marine life and create "dead zones" where oxygen is so depleted that nothing lives. "This is the most vigorous methane eruption in modern human history," Kessler said.



There is also a problem with the oil remaining underwater. No one has a clue how much is staying below the surface in the form of oil plumes but some scientists have estimated it could be equal to the surface oil. When it remains underwater it is impossible to track by satellite. It is also impossible to know how much oil has reached the Gulf "Loop Current", the flow from the Gulf around the tip of Florida and up the East Coast.



We do know that on May 19 scientists monitoring the surface spill with the European Space Agency Envisat radar satellite stated that oil had reached the Loop Current. When it reaches Florida it becomes the Gulf Stream. Since the Loop Current is a very intense deep ocean current, it will accelerate the mixing of the oil and water which may remove the oil film on the surface and prevent further tracking it with satellites, but the pollution is likely to affect the coral reef marine ecosystem.



If the oil continues up the Gulf Stream scientists say it should remain 50-60 miles away from the Eastern Beaches but weather patterns could change that. Eventually the oil could continue in the Gulf Stream all the way to Europe. Such a result could have a catastrophic impact on the world.



Extreme results could be the extinction of sea life in the Gulf region. If it also reaches Europe the high level of toxicity will hurt the ocean life in the region. A prolonged failure to seal the leak could result in pollution of the entire Atlantic Ocean.

There is a possibility the methane gas, the natural gases in this field, could erupt and break through the ocean floor creating a tsunami of immense destructive capability aimed at any area from Florida to Texas and into Mexico as well as the release of poisonous gases into the region. Who knows what happens if the oil leak keeps expanding and eventually causes a rift in the ocean floor large enough to create a tectonic shift?



Another more likely disaster scenario is for the continued leak to impact on our economic recovery which is extremely fragile and teetering right now. We cannot handle an extended disaster on top of the Wall Street and housing fiasco, the lingering health care questions, wars and deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a host of other policy issues where the president seems opposed to the will of the people.

If we fail to maintain an economic recovery mode we could all be in for a very serious time ahead. Right now we should remain aware of events and cautious about projections and know that we cannot continue to spend far more than we have and increase the national debt at a record pace.

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Here we go again - Rahm condemns BP as Obama & Biden Save the Gulf while Golfing

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Only in the capitol of the most powerful nation on Earth that is suffering from the most devastating environmental disaster in history could media attention be focused on the leisure activities of our leaders. It all started when Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel went on national television and blasted the CEO of BP, Tony Hayward, for being at a yachting race off England while the BP oil well was still pouring crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico.



Chicago ballet dancer Emanuel is known for his Southside Chicago political pit bull attacks on any opponent of Obama or his policies. The controversial Rahm was attempting to play off the poor image of BP in public opinion polls while deflecting attention from criticism of Obama for his handling of the oil spill.



There were two factual problems not mentioned by Obama cheerleader MSNBC and their liberal morning hosts. One was that the BP CEO Tony Hayward being criticized by Emanuel is no longer in charge of the oil spill having been tossed to the wayside due to relentless media pressure here in the colonies.



The other is that while Rahm was blasting BP for playing while the oil was spewing, his own boss Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden who are still responsible for the oil crisis were also playing at the sport we imported from the UK, golf.



Was the chief of staff unaware of the schedule of his boss or did he think he controlled the media so much that he didn't need to worry about anyone discovering the truth?



Note the irony that as Emanuel beat up on Hayward, another UK resident, Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland was winning our very own US Open golf tournament just beating out Gregory Havret of France.



What in the world is going on? An unknown from Northern Ireland wins America's most prestigious golf championship, the first time in 40 years a non-American wins, while a Frenchman finishes second? It must be the End Times!


Over in South Africa at the World Cup soccer matches even a redesigned official soccer ball could not make most matches interesting. I don't know about you but I have a very hard time accepting a tie as anything short of failure, yet the vast majority of matches do end in a tie.

Have Congress and the President Lost their Minds with BP Attacks? Obama has never even talked to BP!

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Every day the congress and president have taken turns blasting BP for the oil spill and demanding that BP be required to pay for more and more costs that are not the direct result of BP actions. Clearly our politicians have read the polls and know it is popular to blast BP but will it help the people of the Gulf get their money, will it help the trial lawyers keep money from going to the people of the Gulf, and could it jeopardize what BP has already agreed to do?

For someone like Obama who claims to be in charge of the situation, and has been since day one, doesn't it seem rather odd that as of today Obama has never talked to the head of BP about anything, not even the spill, the clean up, the methods to stop the leak and the long term consequences. How can we be working with BP if our leader sees no need to even talk to their leader?



From day one BP has already said they will pay for all legitimate costs relating to the oil spill. Under existing federal law they are only required to pay $75 million in costs. In spite of that law they have already agreed to pay out nearly $1.2 billion and are willing to accept much more of the burden. No one in congress or the White House seems to be talking about the fact they are already paying out 16 times more than our federal law requires.

But facts never meant much to politicians anyway and they are now hell bent on persecuting BP for every bill that is even remotely connected, if connected at all, to the oil spill in a feeding frenzy to drive the company into bankruptcy. Of course the liberals in the White House and congress are brain dead to the fact the court does not think retroactive laws are viable so a retroactive change in laws like congress and the president seem to want is probably illegal.

The very same politicians gave away trillions of dollars to banks, insurance companies and auto companies and in spite of the potential for criminal activity having caused the economic meltdown no laws were changed retroactively. Be honest people.



Yesterday Obama's Interior Secretary said BP would have to pay for the consequences of the delay in permits for offshore drilling, the knee jerk reaction of the president to prove he was getting tough on big oil. Such a claim is juvenile and nonsense.

Our government will waste millions of dollars in legal fees pursuing frivolous changes in the laws and defense of the laws in federal courts and the first question should be what law firms get the contracts from the White House and Justice or Interior Departments to do the work since we know our government does not have the legal capability to take on such a mission. Look for prominent campaign contributors to the Obama and congressional leaders among the trial lawyers receiving these contracts.

No one is on BP's side in this debate, and I agree they must pay their fair share. But our Democrat leadership in congress has a twisted view of fair share and will never get away with the promises they are making clearly for campaign purposes. Does the media not remember the hundred promises Obama and the Democrats made in the last campaign they remain ignored?



Why did Obama and the Democrats not go after the banks, mortgage and insurance companies that cost Americans trillions of dollars in savings and real estate values from manipulation of regulations? Instead are politicians wasted billions more to bailout the crooks. Suddenly our politicians have found honesty? It has a lot more to do with campaign contributions than honesty. Thus bellowing about BP is totally inconsistent with the actions of politicians to date.

As expected, BP is not taking kindly to the many threats of bravado from politicians promises to make BP responsible for costs having nothing to do with their commitment or liability. The new government in England is having the same problem as it is a British, not American corporation. Look for BP to start taking legal action to protect itself from stupid claims against them by our government.

A few billion dollars in cost will have little effect on BP, even though the media are screaming they may go bankrupt paying all the cost. BP is one of the largest oil producers in America with over one million barrels a day. They are also one of the largest in the world. Whatever Obama and Congress do to drive down BP stock value will result in higher oil prices, thus higher gas costs for everyone. This will only make more money for BP as a major oil producer.

Liberal politicians seem to think BP bashing is a chance to demonize oil companies and improve the chances for Al Gore's windfall, the president's energy bill. With Goldman Sachs in line to share in the windfall profits from anything Obama does to help alternative energy and limit carbon credits, look for even more threats from Congress.



So what are the other consequences?

For one, we may very well alienate relations with Britain who happens to think their BP is one of the best oil companies in the world and certainly one of the largest multi-national companies in the world. If our congress keeps making charges and demanding BP pay for things not involved in the oil spill Britain can do many things to make life miserable for Obama.

For comparison, just look how the Obama policy affected the sanctions against Iran. We lost the support of two former allies, Turkey and Brazil, and in order to get the support of Russia and China we agreed to remove the only provisions of the sanctions that might have made a difference. Russia is free to sell a ballistic missile system to the renegade nation and there will be no gas embargo against Iran which might have actually done some good.

Our foreign policy moves have been a disaster for the Obama campaign promises, and whatever worldwide goodwill he gained in being elected he has lost with his actions in being president.



As for BP, yes the stock value has dropped in half. That was expected. Any effort to extend the costs beyond the legal liability will have grave economic consequences. The salaries for out of work oil workers whose jobs may be lost because of the Obama suspension of offshore drilling is not the fault of BP. Unsubstantiated claims that BP is liable for up to $30 billion in unidentified costs only increases tension between the US and all other oil dependent nations.

Beyond the fact England is not about to allow Obama to destroy one of the most successful companies in Britain, the Brits could retaliate by withdrawing troop support in Afghanistan, by working trade and development deals in Russia and China that are not beneficial to the US, and a host of other unintended consequences. We need them a lot more than they need us.

As for the 50% loss in stock value at BP, does that really just hurt the company? Billions of dollars in BP stock are held by American pension funds, investment funds for our seniors, and investments by many state governments and institutions from America. The radical rhetoric in Washington just cost our own citizens millions of dollars in value for their retirement accounts. Those same stock holders get one of the biggest dividend payouts of any stock in the world and congress and the president want to stop the dividends as well.



Finally one must not forget there are hundreds of thousands of employees in America in the oil industry, and millions more employed in fields dependent on oil for their products and services who could be out of work if congress overreacts to the crisis. All Americans will suffer from the gas price increase that has resulted from the attacks on the oil industry. It would do well for our politicians to think before they cut loose their bionic tongues.

So whose side are Obama and Congress on? Is it the anti-capitalist side of socialism, the anti-oil side, the far left side advocating the redistribution of wealth, or the side of their top campaign contributors from the trial lawyers who will make millions in fees that should have gone to victims?

We are still waiting for leaders to step forward in Washington whose wisdom is more prominent than their bravado and whose knowledge influences their words. And waiting... And waiting...

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How BP Gulf Oil Spill should effect Comprehensive Energy Policy in America

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Now that we have heard all the chest beating claims of the liberals and conservationists and the crescendo of photo ops and sound bites from our politicians making all kinds of nonsensical claims about the effect this spill Must Have on energy policy, are we ready for a taste of the truth?

The truth is this. America is dependent on oil to grow and survive. We are not the greatest user of energy per capita, that is Canada. The United States ranks number 7 in per capita consumption. Because of our population we use the most energy.

We use about 100 quadrillion BTUs a year, of which 40% is fossil fuel. In the category of fossil fuel petroleum is 23%, 23% natural gas, Nuclear provides 8.4%, and renewable 7.3% which is mainly from hydroelectric dams. Overall per capita consumption in the US has remained stable since the 1970's.



The alternative fuels being pushed by Obama and others are a viable long term solution but to put them ahead of an aggressive program to secure energy independence from foreign sources through expanded use of oil, natural gas and coal, is simple nuts. With the primary renewal sources of energy providing less than 5% of our total energy needs, the most liberal of development projections would not result in US energy independence with renewable fuels until the end of the 21st century if then. Remember we have to allow for economic growth.

The truth is the only short term investment that can lead to energy independence is use of the oil, gas and coal reserves in an environmentally friendly manner. Meaning, we need regulatory enforcement which did not happen in the BP oil spill case, improved regulations in terms of the back up plan for any future off shore oil drilling, and expanded drilling areas.



With the BP experience we can protect our environment while expanding drilling. We have already seen hundreds of wells drilled off shore in deep water with no problems. We can always improve the back up plans and permit process but should not strangle the use of oil, gas or coal as a result of the BP and Interior Department problem. BP drilled the well but Interior approved the plan and permits.

If we do not do this, or if we get caught up in environmental radicalism we will strangle the American economy and never have the growth necessary to support long term alternative energy development. Make no mistake, alternative energy development is going to result in far more expensive energy and the American public cannot support huge increases in gas and electric costs.

Obama has already embraced the liberal clean energy movement to the point of threatening the short term economic growth of our nation. If we go green today we will go broke. It is that simple. Yet we can start the transition process of going green without going broke by a two tiered energy policy, the aggressive development of fossil fuels to seek energy independence thus lower energy costs while we give incentives for a long term transition to a green energy economy.



Right now most money invested in green energy is going into the pockets of investors, Wall Street firms like Goldman Sachs, pseudo environmental groups like Al Gore and his Goldman Partners, and not for the benefit of the industry or to lower energy costs for people.

As for the lesson of the Gulf oil spill, it should serve the same purpose as Three Mile Island. The 1979 TMI nuclear disaster was unexpected, not covered by federal regulations, and brought the nuclear industry in America to a standstill. A cost of billions of dollars were involved in the clean up though no lives or jobs were lost. It is the price you pay for new technology which is exactly what happened in the deep water drilling. We discovered problems never anticipated before.

While nuclear provides just 8.4% of our energy, it supplies up to 70% of the energy in some countries. An unexpected disaster like TMI or the Gulf spill should enable us to learn and make sure it does not happen again. Right now there are far more off shore oil wells, over 2,000, than nuclear plants in the USA, 103 commercial plants, and for the short term oil can be in service in far less time and at far less cost than new nuclear or alternative sources.



Use the BP Gulf experience to learn and grow, not to strangle the future economic growth and independence of America. It is time for the president and congress to do what is right for America, not just what is politically expedient.

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BP needs a break, Obama needs a czar, governors need a friend, and TV news needs a long vacation!

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If the news shows were required to use fact checkers before the talking heads went on the air and made their latest wild claim as to why the "other" guys are incompetent, in other words if they were required to tell the truth with no exaggerated distortion, then would they have anything left to say?

Imagine that, all the hosts and reporters for Fox and MSNBC, along with their guests, had to tell the truth? Just the thought would leave them speechless and I happen to think the "Sounds of Silence" would be much better for the American psyche than news shows on TV.



How in the world did America ever survive World War II or the Korean war without those news talk shows? Back then we actually trusted the news media, believed the anchors told the truth, and felt the news people were being as objective as possible.

When you turned on Walter Cronkite, John Cameron Swayze, Huntley and Brinkley, Lowell Thomas or even Edward R. Morrow on radio, you got the news. Not filtered, not slanted toward a social issue or political philosophy, not intended to help a sponsor sell product or propaganda, just the plain old unbiased truth.



Those were the good old days. Way back when integrity meant something. When story content, not speculative spin, really was fair and balanced. But alas, those days are gone.

Just today the MSNBC shows demonstrated yet again, and at MSNBC program content is a collective and shared experience, how the chain reaction lie can work. Once a speculative fact is told on the air regardless of the truth in it, every subsequent show on MSNBC repeats the original story, even if the claim is not true.



When TV programs have to tell lies and undertake character assassination for the purpose of getting ratings, then they should not be allowed to claim special privilege under the Bill of Rights, freedom of the press.

The Morning Joe Show, with their large cast of liberal elitists and one conservative apologist, were raising the roof because the Obama administration was letting BP take the lead on the disaster. Are they really that insane?



When Apollo 13 went haywire on the way to the moon and it looked as if the craft and crew were goners, the White House turned to the people responsible for the mistake in the first place, NASA and their contractors, to solve the unprecedented problems.

BP has already called in the top scientists and engineers in the world, from their competitors and from universities and public and private laboratories.

There are two distinct and separate aspects to this disaster. One is capping the spewing well, which may be done today. This problem is much like Apollo 13, it had never been experienced before because of the depth of the well, one mile below the sea. They have to take care of that problem and the oil industry experts are best qualified to do it.

The second aspect of the problem is the containment and clean up of the oil that has leaked into the Gulf. This program should be managed by the federal government, particularly the Federal Emergency Management Program, good old FEMA.



One can only hope that all the improvements made to FEMA since Katrina by Bush and by Obama the last year and a half will make it capable of managing the task at hand. A massive and highly sensitive environmental clean up and restoration of the wetlands, the marshes, the beaches, the Gulf waters and all the environmental and ecological aspects of the Gulf Coast states is required.

The White House needs a Gulf Environmental and Ecological Czar to oversee this effort. How can that be so hard for an Administration that already has more Czars than banks have vice presidents? For once they should take the unusual step of ignoring the left leaning requirement for new appointments and name someone actually qualified to manage such a disaster response.

There is much that can be done right now to set in place actions to clean up the environment or protect certain critical areas from becoming polluted. The Corp of Engineers, Defense Department, Homeland Security, especially the revived FEMA units, and other federal agencies can be doing things right now to help. Permits can be expedited, emergency waivers granted, agencies forced to break bureaucratic logjams and other actions that a czar could take.

Thousands of volunteers need to be recruited to help save the environment and protect the ecology and Obama could get it done. Emergency approval of government permits for attacking the oil must be granted from a variety of agencies and a Czar should be empowered in the event of a national emergency, to grant the waivers and permits needed to be solving problems.

National disasters are not the time for partisan politics, which makes the political fundraisers being done by Obama this week seem rather shallow and self-serving. Maybe his sudden awakening to the fact the only thing missing from the disaster was leadership, confidence, determination and responsibility, had something to do with the fact he is suddenly going to New Orleans and the Gulf Coast this Friday, and not just for a photo op.



The last bizarre story propagated on MSNBC on the oil spill is that Congress is inept because they cannot raise the liability limit for oil companies from the current $75 million to $10 billion and this is a disasterous situation. What is MSNBC talking about? BP has already said over and over they will pay all legitimate claims for the oil spill. They have already agreed to pay over $350 million for claims and they are just beginning to assess the cost.

If they already committed to and expect to pay out $350 million plus a whole lot more, does anyone really think they expect to pay only $75 million in total damages as specified by law. Of course not, they committed to far more than their legal and pitiful liability. Our inept Congress can fix that law any time, both parties already know it is nonsense and that BP has already agreed to pay the costs. Whatever happens it has nothing to do with the current oil spill. BP said they will pay!

BP needs a break, Obama needs a czar, the state governors need a friend, and television news needs a long vacation, so the nation can pull together and help fix what congress cannot do. No country on earth responds to a disaster like Americans if government and the press would get out of the way and let us work together to get the job done to the best of our ability.

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