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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"Houston, We've had a Problem" - BP Gets Help - America responds as Well

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When the BP headquarters in Houston got word from the Deepwater Horizon oil platform there was an accident on April 20, 2010, it was almost 40 years to the day since the worst accident in the Apollo space program history took place on April 13, 1970.

That fateful message came from Apollo 13 as it streaked toward the moon under the command of James Lovell and an equipment malfunction never before encountered faced the scientists, engineers and computer jocks working to conquer space. It took the greatest mobilization of minds and the greatest American outpouring of prayer but by April 17 the crippled spacecraft had miraculously been safely landed back on earth.

Today, 40 years later, we face a similar impending catastrophe and once again it will take the greatest minds of scientists, engineers and computer jocks, along with the greatest outpouring of public support and prayer to avoid an even greater disaster.



The BP oil rig was pioneering deep water drilling reaching depths never before achieved, with the well going 35,000 feet below the ocean surface. If successful the technology would help make a giant leap forward toward American oil independence from foreign oil opening the way for billions of barrels of new, American offshore oil reserves for commercial production.

Far below the surface in pressures never before experienced, some 1,000 times more powerful than pressure on the water's surface, something went wrong and tragically, 11 experienced, dedicated oil veterans were killed as the rig exploded. Yet a more daunting task lie ahead, trying to cap a spewing well 5,000 feet deep and covered with 32,000 tons of debris from the rig that sank to the Gulf floor.

Washington politicians, as usual, immediately started finger pointing and issuing threats. Even White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs jumped into the bitter political environment with his reiteration of the threat by Obama's Interior Secretary Ken Salazar that Obama would "keep the boot on the neck of BP," a divisive and counterproductive ill-timed comment.



When faced with a technological crisis playing the blame game will never be a successful strategy. Some parts of the government responded, like the Coast Guard, but mostly it was more of the same from Washington. Politicians should keep their political shenanigans in our nation's capitol, we have work to do to help heal our nation on the Gulf.

Quietly, like Americans have always done when faced with a national crisis, the people set about the task of preparing for the worst and unselfishly offering to help. BP asked for the best minds from competitors like Chevron, Exxon, Shell, Conoco and Anadarko among others to help them devised a solution to the seemingly impossible task of stopping the 210,000 gallons a day of crude oil.

They came up with a plan never before attempted at such a depth to build and drop a 100 ton cone on the well 5,000 feet down. The first of three cones has been finished and it currently on the way to the site. By this weekend we will know if a major environmental disaster can be avoided.

But this doesn't just have national implications. There are over 8,300 offshore drilling rigs in operation around the world. All nations of the world will benefit from a successful response to this accident.

Offers of help have poured into the State Department from around the world as 13 nations and the United Nations have offered their people, equipment and resources to help stop the leak. U.S. neighbors Canada and Mexico are among those offering equipment and experts in containing and cleaning up the leak from the BP oil rig that exploded April 20.



State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said Wednesday that the Coast Guard is evaluating the needs of the cleanup operation and will decide what, if any, aid to accept in the coming days. Also offering aid are Britain, Croatia, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, South Korea, Spain, Sweden and the U.N. Environmental Program.

The response has also come from the people of America in ways the government, so caught up in political bickering, would never even consider. Hair salons from across the country have been collecting hair and sending it to the Gulf coast to be rolled into absorbent cloth and used to absorb oil that may reach the shore. Hair is a powerful absorbent and thousands of people are responding to this call for help.

Many others are flocking to the Gulf coast to help with the clean up of any oil that reaches the beaches and marshlands, to help with wildlife recovery and care, and to help in any way possible. These offers of help from the little people of America, people I refer to in my book The Joshua Chronicles as the "Raggedy People", the silent multitudes upon whom a new civilization will be built, reflect more of the spirit of America than politicians could ever hope to be.



They know the game of politics no longer works. They know now is not the time for blame but for hope, inspiration, dedication and innovation to overcome this potential disaster. Obama and Congress should be encouraging these efforts to help by the citizens, corporate community and other nations and save the blame game for later.



Today is the National Day of Prayer. Prayer works. It did for Apollo 13 and it can for the Deepwater Horizon crisis. If only our politicians would join together in prayer for the success of this massive international effort and this dramatic mobilization of the people we could all stand united in our purpose and maybe the prayers will be heard.

No one wanted this disaster to happen. BP has over 80,000 employees whose jobs are dependent on the oil being delivered safely. Millions of people are employed directly in the oil and gas industry and many millions more have jobs dependent on the oil industry. We all benefit from their efforts and our quality of life is much improved because of them.



America and Americans will help get us through this crisis, even if the politicians continue to stammer and sputter in Washington. It would be nice if our leadership would focus on the problem and help to mobilize and encourage those who are dedicated to solving problems, not compounding them. It would also help if they would attend their own Prayer Day activities and really listen to the message of the priests, ministers and rabbis. We are all in this together.

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Obama's Helter Skelter Agenda - Maybe Harvard Wasn't Ready for the Presidency

It has been since 1962 that a true Harvard grad has been president, a span of 47 years while it has been 49 years since one was elected president. Of course we are referring to John Kennedy and I think it is clear already that Barack Obama sure isn't any John Kennedy.

Oh yes, the fact checkers may say "wasn't George Bush, Jr. a Harvard Business School grad" and the answer is yes but based on what he did with the economy and what Obama has done since taking over it might be something that Harvard may not want to talk about. Besides, Bush was a Yale undergraduate while Obama was a Columbia undergraduate.

Now Obama seems to be a nice enough kid. Maybe he made a few mistakes because of his lack of experience, mistakes getting to the White House and mistakes now that he is there, but in spite of his claims that being a community organizer qualified him to run the economy, fix Wall Street and give us all health care, we now know that is just plain nonsense.

I don't remember anyone in the campaign telling us the Obama Administration would be an on-the-job training program for future liberal leaders rather than the president of all the people all the time. His gang has ignored Republicans and Independents and tried to use the Democratic majority in Congress to jam legislation down our throat.

The Obama handlers seemed to forget that just 53% of Americans voted for Obama while 47% opposed him. His was not an overwhelming public mandate but a referendum on the Bush Administration which seemed to be drifting aimlessly the last few years in office. Even Adlai E. Stevenson of Illinois, the last famous liberal presidential candidate from Illinois and three time loser could have beat Bush last year.




Unfortunately for the Republicans Bush was soooo unpopular Speaker Nancy Pelosi was able to get a Democratic majority in the House and Majority Leader Harry Reid got one in the Senate thus, in their minds, giving the president an ironclad veto proof majority in Congress.

So after promising us a break from old style politics and transparency and no lobbyists and prosecution of crooks and new ideas, etc., etc., etc. Obama was able to use the Pelosi-Reid majorities and slam a massive amount of legislation down our throats to fix all the things the Republicans screwed up the past 8 years. It was a great opportunity and a historic landslide of laws but they were written by the same old politicians and lobbyists who were already owned by the special interests from Wall Street to Union Leaders and the laws were filled with the same pork barrel projects we always expected before.

As for the Emergency stimulus bill which Obama touted as the savior of America at a cost of $787 billion to fund shovel-ready projects that could be implemented immediately, we are entering the 5th month since passage and so far the accelerated efforts of Obama have managed to get $44 billion spent, just 5% of the money. Most was probably for unemployment benefits which has nothing to do with stimulus.

In spite of the failure of the program, the economy continues to recover meaning why did we need the program in the first place? We didn't. But Obama did to fund all the none stimulus social agenda he wanted to advance the liberal cause in the nation. Our secret march toward socialism will leave an amazing legacy if left unchecked by Congress.



In less than six months since Obama took office the USA has borrowed more money than the entire amount borrowed during the previous 30 years. In terms of foreign countries of course China continues to hold the biggest mortgage on the future of America with $767.9 trillion in US debt and a total of $1.4 trillion in US debt and US currency. Since we forced Chrysler and GM into bankruptcy and Fannie May and Freddie Mack were bailed out with federal ownership I guess that means China and the other foreign debt holders will own America's largest auto and mortgage companies as well.

The top 7 foreign debt holders are China ($767.9 b), Japan (686.7 b), Caribbean Bank Centers ($213.6 b), Oil Exporters ($192.0 b), Russia ($138.4 b), UK $128.2 b), Brazil ($126.6 b), and Luxembourg ($106.1 b) with a total of $3.2 trillion in foreign debt ownership.

Now the Administration takes comfort in knowing the Federal Reserve here in the US owns the greatest amount of US debt, $4.8 trillion, but who owns and controls the Federal Reserve? Not the US government. Not the US president. Not the US Congress. No, the twelve regional Federal Reserve banks are owned by the private banks doing business with the Fed.



The Obama record shattering borrowing has pushed the US into a debt never before seen and he has just begun. Waiting in the wings are more bank and other bailout programs, energy efficient spending, more health care spending, and a crippled Social Security and Medicaid programs all in need of billions and billions of dollars.


The failure of the Obama economists to accurately project unemployment trends led to gross errors in the estimated costs or value of new programs like the stimulus and bank bailout, the bank stress tests, and the US budget revenue and deficit projections. Obama and the Democratic Congress decided the unemployment rate would stop at 8% because of all their spending yet the rate shot to 9.4% in spite of the spending or lack of spending. It will most likely rise throughout 2009 as projected in the Coltons Point Times and peak around 10% before the effects of economic recovery, not stimulus spending, begin bringing it back down.

So far Obama and the Democratic Congress have brought us record unemployment, record debt, record foreign deficits, record foreign ownership of US assets, record bailouts of banks, mortgage companies, insurance, auto and other industries, and record oil prices with no demand to support it.

Even the Obama worshipers like the media, liberals, unions, bureaucrats, teachers, disenfranchised citizens and Democrat puppets are beginning to get nervous about the failures of programs to protect them and their special interests. Wait until they begin to feel the effects of spiraling interest rates and skyrocketing inflation rates to pay for all the liberal agenda which will surely be the result.

Oh yes Obama is a likeable guy. His wife is likeable as well. But being likeable and from Harvard, Columbia and Princeton Ivy League schools as they are does not make one mature, street smart nor able to govern any better than a Ronald Reagan also from Illinois who attended tiny Eureka College with a student body today of just 750 students.

Make Way for the New GMC, the Government Motor Company

Any moment now GM is going to file for bankruptcy following in the footsteps of Chrysler and America is going to go from three major auto companies to one, Ford. Maybe it is only fair that the first car company in America is the last one standing but what does that say about America?

GM Headquarters in Detroit

Well, call it what you want we have temporarily nationalized the car companies because all of their money is coming from our government and the Obama boys are calling all the shots from who will manage the companies, what debtors will get the most money back, what cars will be made in the future and about everything else about the business of management.

It is already clear that the unions will be the big winners of the debtor pool as they have received better terms than any other bond and debt holder. The unions could own 24% of General Motors and the government could own 51% and since the unions helped get Obama elected it looks like the unions will be running the GM of the future.

I've got nothing against unions being management but it somehow seems like a conflict of interest for the workers and management to be the same people, especially since it was the legacy costs of union pension and health insurance for retired auto workers that got the companies in trouble in the first place.

Chrysler will be run by Fiat so there is no American Pie left in that company. GM must shed all of its foreign holdings which were the only part of GM that made a profit recently. Rumor has it Obama will give GM $30 billion more to get through bankruptcy.

Forcing GM to change to energy and environmental cars of the future is great for the future but pretty radical in America where it often seems cars were guaranteed in our Constitution just like guns. Here we like powerful and efficient cars but I cannot imagine the little, very little cars designed for European cities where traffic is always jammed, selling in America. Give me a Thunderbird or Corvette before you try and stick me in one of those mini-death traps.

And speaking of the alternative energy cars being required by the Obama gang, and especially the electric cars, if they do not improve the batteries the cars will never really sell. Right now if the battery breaks down, and none have been tested over a period of many years, the battery replacement cost could easily exceed $10,000. Some car efficiency. Why don't we just make more efficient internal combustion cars until we have mastered the new batteries required for massive market penetration by the alternative vehicles?

In spite of the ranting and raving of global warming advocates, it is power plants, not cars, that are contributing the most to the problem. You might want to add our nation's capitol as the second biggest cause because of all the hot air expended in DC. So cars are not the main problem. So we have right now sufficient oil and natural gas reserves to supply our current needs for about 300 years. New technologies and new techniques to improve auto efficiency have constantly improved auto performance, even the autos running on gas.

Oil prices have reached new highs in a stable market as oil reached about $66.00 a barrel this week when demand has collapsed and inventories are at all time highs. All the nonsense and predictions from our government about how bad things have gotten seem to be falling on deaf ears. And did you hear Al Gore or any other global warming advocate answer why we are in a period of advanced global warming yet the average temperature of the Earth has fallen the last couple of years?

I suspect if you checked to see who owns stock in the new energy efficient companies and solar efforts you might find a lot of names of environmentalists, thus putting them in yet another conflict of interest which seems all too common in Washington.

Now before any tree huggers blast away at me I will put my environmental record up against any of them as back when many of them were in diapers I was involved in environmental initiatives from waste recovery to mandatory recycling, active and passive solar systems to hydrogen cars, restricted land use management to wetlands and forest recovery, and I was even involved in the creation of the Federal Energy Administration and US Department of Energy.

Oil and natural gas are critical to our transition to a more energy efficient future. The Obama gang chose to slam the door on what works and bet the future on what hasn't work yet. I say increase oil and gas reserves while we create the new alternative energy economy, a manufacturing base that does not even exist yet. Don't bet our future on speculation.