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Gallup: Health Care Overhaul Support Flatlines
In the three months since Congress approved a broad overhaul of the U.S. health care system, the landmark legislation “has not gained significant support” among the American people, according to the latest Gallup poll out today.


And it's only going to get worse.

The oil companies (including BP) have taken the USA federal admin to court over the drilling ban in the Gulf of Mexico. The judge ruled in their favour.

As you would expect the federal gov is appealing.

(V):  And I hope the Federal gov loses this one as they are totally out in left field.

OldFartNamesArt: You would like the company who just messed up BIG STYLE to (amongst others) drill in an area that has been designated risky drilling areas because of the depth....

... I personally would like to make sure there is the equipment to seal another leak like the one which is happening now before they might even be considered granted the go ahead.

Call me fickle but it's called safety and don't make the same mistake twice as being unprepared. The oil companies can afford some R&D don't you think?

RECENT POLLS:
Gallup: Debt, Terrorism Considered Top Threats to U.S.
CNN: 60% Want Gitmo Kept Open; Up From 47% in Jan. 2009
Quinnipiac: 59% Favor Military Tribunals For 9/11 Terrorists
Washington Post/ABC News: 55% Favor Military Tribunals For 9/11 Terrorists
CBS: Most Americans Want Gitmo Kept Open
Rasmussen: Just 35% Say US Safer Today Than Before 9/11
Zogby: 55% Of Independents Want Gitmo Open
Quinnipiac: 60% Of All Americans Want Gitmo Open
Gallup: 64% Oppose Closing Gitmo & Moving Detainees To U.S.
Rasmussen: 58% Support Waterboarding & Aggressive Interrogation Tactics
Rasmussen: Majority In Illin

(V): Drilling suspension would likely cost 6000 jobs in Louisiana alone (and could go as high as 10,000). If the rigs leave the gulf, they won't be coming back. And there are interested parties that want those rigs in their waters. Here are some facts:

There have been over 50,000 wells drilled in the Gulf of Mexico, over 4,000 of them deepwater wells and 700 ultra-deepwater wells; all this with no major incidents until now. That is a 99.998 percent success ratio. But they are going to punish Louisiana anyway. They have invested over $150 million for its fleet of vessels that are now being shut down for six months. When in the history of the country has an entire industry been shut down for six months? Why do it now?

Here's another fact that's not being discussed: With 33 rigs about to be put out of commission, one company that contracts their oil rig vessels (Laborde Marine) received a call. that call came from Petrobras. Yes, that's right, the George Soros heavily-backed Brazilian state run oil company Petrobras wants to lease the unused rigs.

I smell a rat.

It costs at least $10 million to move the rigs, so it's unlikely they'd find their way back if they are leased. The jobs won't ever come back.

Yes the oil spill is bad. And yes BP was negligent. But you don't shut down (and destroy) and entire industry (and the livelihood of thousands) for ONE accident.

This spill could have been less severe if Obama hadn't sat on his hand for 6 months. He's incompetent. The leak is BPs fault. The mess is Obama's fault. He's done NOTHING in a timely way and the actions he does take are minimal. It's like he wants this disaster.

OldFartNamesArt: No-one has said shut down.. just no more. Regardless of it being 99.998 or 99.999999999% ok the cost to the other industries is what?? How many people cannot work?

.... ONLY 33 RIGS ARE AFFECTED, not 50,000.

And how much is the cost to another or the same oil company if they mess up? The cost to the UK private pensions is considerable.

Obama sat on his hands.. was that when he was face to face with the BP lot to restrain himself from expressing the feelings of those affected?

(V): You need to learn to read. Never said more than 33 rigs were affected. The CONTEXT was historical: "There have been over 50,000 wells drilled in the Gulf of Mexico, over 4,000 of them deepwater wells and 700 ultra-deepwater wells; all this with no major incidents until now."

Note: "have been"

Obama did NOTHING (that's zero actions) for two months. Actions that do nothing to contain the spill are worthless.

Oh yeah he attends sports games, played some hoops and golfed a lot. and he gave impressive speeches. But as for anything meaningful to contain the spill

NOTHING

OldFartNamesArt: Have been until now. No immediate tech is available to contain the leak AT IT'S SOURCE.. How is Obama supposed to contain that? Nuke it???

So.. what about the fishermen, the wildlife, tourist industry, etc ?? A few thousand men is more important then them... please explain how?

Salazar was the one who told Congress that experts backed his plan for a blanket moratorium on further deep-water drilling, when experts had said nearly the opposite. (Salazar later apologized.) Many engineers, in fact, warn that shutting down wells and then restarting drilling -- with the migration of drill rigs, technology and human capital -- would only increase risk in the long run.

OldFartNamesArt:

Is it Obama's job to stop the oil spill or to pass regulations to ensure companies work safely? How quicly everyone forgets that it was the Republicans under Bush who lowered the environmental standards that oil companies have to meet, all under the guise of decreasing dependency on foreign oil sources.

How quickly everyone forgets Sarah Palin saying "Drill baby, drill" during the presidential campaign. Since she is so much in favour of drilling, shouldn't she do something other than criticize Obama and point to oiil companies supporting his campaign? According to Hufftington Post, she blamed environmentalists for the oil disaster because they force tougher regulations?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/03/sarah-palin-blames-enviro_n_598977.html

Her logic is that deep sea drilling is being fuelled by oil companies being unable to drill in Alaska's National Wildlife Refuge. I suppose the fact that her husband is an oil company employee does not color her desire to drill in the wildlife refuge. She goes on to say that America shouldn't trust BP because it is a foreign oil company, even though her husband worked for BP for years.

In an interview in Fox News she talks of the media not doing enough to be on top of Obama's case for receiving campaign donations from BP. That is real grand from her considering her husband is a company employee!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oh4ESaeUE2A

Here is some footage of Sarah Palin calling offshore drilling "environmentally friendly" during the presidential campaign:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rn2Tyh6b5dE&feature=fvw

The funny thing is that when the next presidential race comes around, Sarah Palin will score votes against Obama saying that he did nothing, even though she was the one who championed offshore drilling during the previous campaign.

It just goes to show that a good politician is a good hypocrite.

Übergeek 바둑이: Obama is the President, not Bush or Palin. This spill happened under his watch. He's responsible to do all he can to get this spill cleaned.

Explain why he does nothing for the first 60 days.

Why does he wait to act on Louisiana's requests and why doesn't he give them exactly what they need to protect the shores?

Why does Obama refuse the help of other nations who, by the way, have proven techniques and the proper equipment for such spills.

This is all on Obama. Not Bush. Not Palin (why you bring her into it is laughable).

Report: Gen. Petraeus will replace Gen. McChrystal
Ed Lasky
AP writes that "sources" tell it that General David Petraeus will replace Gen. McChrystal as commender of US forces in Afghanistan, in the wake of his nbeing relieved from duty by the President. How ironic that "General Betray Us." as Obama's pals in Moveon.Org called him, is coming to Obama's rescue.

Tuesday: Anyone who thinks any President can just wave a magic wand and remove the human factor ought to remember JKF, Nixon, Clinton, Raygun, Bush....

I think most moderate-ish Republicans are more reasoned. If not and the corporations have taken over the GOP then in no way do they deserve to be in power. A party that has sold it's soul for the dollar no longer represents the people.

OldFartNamesArt: Deepwater Horizon Incident Joint Information Center

June 15
"Currently, 15 foreign-flagged vessels are involved in the largest response to an oil spill in U.S. history." The center further explained, "No Jones Act waivers have been granted because none of these vessels have required such a waiver to conduct their operations in the Gulf of Mexico."

Are you sure Fox is reliable??

.....While discussing the BP oil leak on Glenn Beck, Flynn said: "The Dutch have offered assistance, the British have offered assistance. There's been a lot of international assistance offered. The federal government has not accepted that assistance because of some antiquated law passed in the '20s and '30s from labor unions, the Jones Act. We have denied the use of international ships.".....

"No Jones Act waivers have been granted because none of these vessels have required such a waiver to conduct their operations in the Gulf of Mexico."

New PrimeMinishter for Aus. today?

a woman looks to take over after infighting amongst the factions......

Not from Fox:

U.S. Refused Help on Oil Spill

According to Foreign Policy, thirteen entities had offered the U.S. oil spill assistance within about two weeks of the Horizon rig explosion. They were the governments of Canada, Croatia, France, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Republic of Korea, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United Nations.

The U.S. response - Thank you, but no thank you, we've got it.

"..While there is no need right now that the U.S. cannot meet, the U.S. Coast Guard is assessing these offers of assistance to see if there will be something which we will need in the near future."

"Rep. Corrine Brown (D-Fla.) said it was unacceptable that her state couldn’t utilize foreign vessels for skimming. She held up pictures of skimmers available in Mexico and Norway that could help. 'We are in emergency mode and we need skimmers,' Brown said. “We need the big ones. I understand they’re available in other countries, including Mexico and Norway. What is the process for the state to utilize these vessels from other countries? … We’re talking about protecting Florida’s coast.' . . .Deputy Maritime Administrator David Matsuda confirmed there has been one Jones Act waiver request for a foreign deck barge to operate within three miles of the U.S. coast. That request was denied . . . .Of course, the Obama administration could eliminate the bureaucratic delay entirely by simply following the precedent set by the Bush administration, which waived the Jones Act in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 to transport oil and gasoline throughout the Gulf region. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has the legal authority to suspend the law."

Democrats Make the Case for Jones Act Waiver
by Robert Bluey
A congressional hearing on foreign ships in the Gulf of Mexico turned into a full-scale attack on the Obama administration’s response to the crisis — led by the committee’s Democrats.

Thursday’s hearing came as a growing chorus of critics has accused the Obama administration of unwisely turning away international help for the oil spill cleanup and failing to issue a temporary waiver of the protectionist Jones Act. The hearing came as Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-La.) criticized the administration for bureaucratic hurdles.

http://biggovernment.com/rbluey/2010/06/18/democrats-make-the-case-for-jones-act-waiver/

That should put that issue to rest. It's clear that Obama refused help, and sat on an effective response. He's an inept, incompetent rookie and clearly over his head.

(V): Alot of the flack Obama is getting is payback for the rough ride GW got during Katrina.

OldFartNamesArt: Not really can you do a break down of the 15 vessels of foreign (to the USA) nationality... something like 25% of the ships there..

And you'll still quoting the Jones act when it does not apply.

Quite honestly.. all I see is misquotes from people loving to jump on Obama because of something he did not do... He didn't decide to break safety laws and advice.

Geez ... they'd get killed on Question time!!

Jim Dandy: GW.. I feel deserved the flack for GWII... Katrina. I don't think anyone expected that kinda devastation, you cannot blame the guy for the weather.

Jim Dandy: Obama deserves the flack. Do you think he acted in a proper and timely way?

(V): Get with it Jules. It's clear that in the beginning (and for a long time) Obama did very little to help curb the spill. And it's also a fact that Obama refused help. As for your claim, I can find NOTHING to support your claim. Not that I don't think it's likely at this point. How long as it been now?

I don't know the nature of the ships helping, the countries they are from, no details. So I'll not take your word or that of Media matters either.

Even if it's true, Obama STILL refused help from countries that were willing to help. They had the proper equipment.

Meanwhile, Obama was stonewalling requests from Louisiana's Governor for needed help/equipment/permits etc.

OldFartNamesArt: I checked the details on the Deepwater Horizon Incident Joint Information Center website... No list of nationality is there, but that 15 vessels from NON USA countries are helping.


..AND THAT THE JONES ACT DOES NOT APPLY.

It's clear your sites are scaremongering like those ads during the election suggestion a vote for Obama was a vote for the USA being nuked.

.. I'm doubly concerned that some people in the USA would belief that!!

Tuesday: I just wish those in India killed and hurt through that USA firm flouting safety regs would get their compensation.. They are still fighting in USA courts I believe, and that is not the only case in the courts still.

(V): Hawaii Republican Rep. Charles Djou became the latest member of Congress to publicly criticize President Obama for not allowing foreign ships into the Gulf of Mexico to help with the clean-up effort of the BP oil spill.

Djou called on the administration to temporarily suspend the Jones Act, which bars foreign ships from engaging in transporting goods to and from American ports. According to a clause in the statute, the president can waive the law on an emergency and temporary basis.

The Coast Guard Friday "redoubled" efforts to keep the Deepwater Horizon oil spill from impacting Gulf states by calling in more skimming boats and equipment from the Netherlands, Norway, France, and Spain after previously telling one Dutch official "Thanks, but no thanks," to an offer of help.

That revelation comes as Florida lawmakers beg for more skimmers to ward off Gulf spill oil approaching the state's white sand beaches and as the Unified Command – led by Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen – struggles with chain-of-command issues as BP changes its on-scene leadership.

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2010/0619/Jones-Act-Maritime-politics-strain-Gulf-oil-spill-cleanup


I can find tons to these kinds of reports but NOTHING to support your scenario.

Foreign Ships Help in Gulf Clean-up
R.G. Edmonson | Jun 15, 2010 2:33PM GMT
The Journal of Commerce Online - News Story
Washington | Regulation | Maritime | United States
Lawmakers to hold hearing on Jones Act waivers to allow operations
The House Transportation subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation will hold a hearing Thursday on the influx of foreign-flag vessels in the Gulf of Mexico oil clean-up operation.

Artful Dodger: ... But there are already ships there.... If some politician wants to play a points game over a little bit of red tape then so be it....

Do the foreign nationality ships working in the area have to leave until some politician gets his 15 minutes??

.. Sounds like that MEP getting paid to dis the NHS for the Murdoch unbiased news services. *cough*

How many committees does it take to work out how to screw in a light bulb.


.... unknown... section 42.8.1b hasn't been agreed on.

Tuesday: I'am a man & i don't like war

June 24, 2010
Obama's ally ousted as Aussie PM
Thomas Lifson
President Obama's endorsement is proving to be a political kiss of death overseas as well as at home (ask Arlen Specter about the value of an Obama endorsement).

Barack Obama publicly acknowledged two months ago that Kevin Rudd, just ignominiously ousted by his own party as Prime Minister of Australia, was politically a great match for him.

How many Democrats will lose in the next election due to the Obama factor.

The more the merrier.