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You are here: Home / And Then Obama Blew Up That Oil Rig And Tried to Get Away Blame Free

And Then Obama Blew Up That Oil Rig And Tried to Get Away Blame Free

by John Cole|  May 15, 20101:52 pm| 172 Comments

This post is in: Assholes, Our Failed Media Experiment

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Chip Reid knows who is to blame for the oil spill in the gulf:

Angry Obama Seeks to Deflect Blame for Gulf Oil Spill Crisis

The president seemed genuinely angry today, on a beautiful spring afternoon in the Rose Garden. Having watched him on a daily basis for about a year and a half, I’m confident he wasn’t faking it.

He seems deeply upset about the growing calamity in the Gulf, about the environmental damage, about the irresponsibility of the companies involved, and about their efforts to shift the blame.

“I did not appreciate what I considered to be a ridiculous spectacle during the congressional hearings into this matter,” he intoned. “You had executives of BP and Transocean and Halliburton falling over each other to point the finger of blame at somebody else.”

President Obama may have decried finger-pointing today, but he also did a fair amount of it himself. Not only at the three companies, but at previous administrations.

Yeah. I can’t imagine why the White House doesn’t want you assholes anywhere near Supreme Court nominees or why they view you all with sheer contempt.

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Reader Interactions

172Comments

  1. 1.

    valdivia

    May 15, 2010 at 1:55 pm

    assholes. deflect? this is cheney’s chernobyl (someone here coined it) and Reid says Obama is deflecting. Fucking jerk.

  2. 2.

    Alex

    May 15, 2010 at 1:56 pm

    Why, how dare that uppity angry Preznit shift blame to those who actually deserve it.

  3. 3.

    Brien Jackson

    May 15, 2010 at 1:56 pm

    Words fail.

  4. 4.

    Jeff Fecke

    May 15, 2010 at 1:57 pm

    People who aren’t at fault are always free to assign blame to those who are. For example, I didn’t write this column, so I can say freely that Chip Reid is a douchebag.

  5. 5.

    Cat Lady

    May 15, 2010 at 1:58 pm

    STFU Chip Reid. You’re an idiot in a sea of idiots who should all be used to plug the well hole. That’s the only useful purpose for him and all of his idiot cohorts. Jeebus I hate all those clowns.

  6. 6.

    Linda Featheringill

    May 15, 2010 at 2:02 pm

    Actually, the Establishment in the Gulf States, Republican as it is, should be grateful to the president for setting an example of how to express your anger in an acceptable manner.

    Judging from the comments at the Gulf newspapers online, I have concluded that some of these people already have their pitchforks and are working on the torches.

    And, yes, they probably all own guns, too.

    Seriously. Some of these folks have actually thought about an armed uprising.

    What do they hope to achieve? A government that doesn’t lie to them. A government that won’t say the equivalent of, “Don’t you worry your pretty little head, Darling. Big Daddy has the situation under control and everything will be okay.”

  7. 7.

    comrade scott's agenda of rage

    May 15, 2010 at 2:02 pm

    The Washington (com)Post is already running a front page “ut oh, they are bypassing the MSM” piece:

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/14/AR2010051401316.html?hpid=topnews

    Most of the piece is the (com)Post writer detailing the list of greviances (including the “lack” of access to Kagan) the Beltway Villagers have been airing recently.

    These groups can’t go tits up fast enough.

  8. 8.

    dmsilev

    May 15, 2010 at 2:03 pm

    Didn’t you hear? Obama dug the well himself, using slave labor supplied by ACORN, under direct orders from Fat Al Gore, whose diabolical plan to discredit the worlds’ oil companies is proceeding nicely.

    The really sad thing is that parts of that above paragraph have been advanced in all seriousness by various members of the conservative media establishment.

    dms

  9. 9.

    Bill H

    May 15, 2010 at 2:03 pm

    Well I am 100% with Obama on this and I completely enjoyed watching the clip of him dismantling the oil executives. The term “ridiculous spectacle” was entirely apt. While I am less than thrilled with his choice of Salazar as Sec’y of Interior, it would be inappropriate to place any part of the blame on Obama’s administration for this debacle.

    That being said, it doesn’t sit well to have him on the very same day blatting about how the Republicans “ran the car into the ditch,” when Democrats have been in control of Congress for more than three full years.

  10. 10.

    wrb

    May 15, 2010 at 2:04 pm

    Who needs golf balls? Inject some real junk.

  11. 11.

    cat48

    May 15, 2010 at 2:06 pm

    Ambinder said a week ago that Obama was “doing a slow burn” over the spill and was becoming more angry daily. No Chip, you big lug, I don’t think he was faking either. We’re all pretty pissed about it.

  12. 12.

    bago

    May 15, 2010 at 2:06 pm

    You know the cheer-leading posts where everyone can bash the idiot of the day (McMegan) lead to the fanboy group re-enforcement bit that requires your own site to have a lexicon. The following separation then enables the “Yeah, but it’s our guy” mentality that leads to endorsement of assassination squads. At least Cheney had the personal touch. /maher

    (Sorry for the derail, Chip Reid IS an idiot)

  13. 13.

    licensed to kill time

    May 15, 2010 at 2:07 pm

    Because it’s all about finger pointing and blame avoiding and political maneuvering, right Chip? It’s all a big game, and you want to be the ref that makes the call that puts the spotlight on you.

  14. 14.

    MikeJ

    May 15, 2010 at 2:10 pm

    Know how to fix it? Let’s send our love down a well.

    Then when we have no love, we can vivisect the oil executives.

  15. 15.

    Bernard

    May 15, 2010 at 2:11 pm

    Obama’s upset? oh my, imagine that. the oil spill messes up his corporate armor. he may have to pull back on the 27 oil leases he has approved since the spill started. where will the corporate money come from if Obama has to say, oh wait till this mess is finished.

    i can see why Obama is so upset. this throws a monkey wrench into his Chess game. this spill is so inconvenient!! oh my!!!!

  16. 16.

    calling all toasters

    May 15, 2010 at 2:14 pm

    Chip Reid is constantly defending the honor of the Cheneys, only this time he’s doing it pre-emptively.

  17. 17.

    jwb

    May 15, 2010 at 2:15 pm

    @wrb: Let’s start with Dick Cheney.

  18. 18.

    arguingwithsignposts

    May 15, 2010 at 2:15 pm

    @Bernard:

    he may have to pull back on the 27 oil leases he has approved since the spill started. where will the corporate money come from if Obama has to say, oh wait till this mess is finished.

    Because we all know BHO *himself* signs every freakin’ oil lease. Jebus, grow up, hater.

  19. 19.

    Bernard

    May 15, 2010 at 2:19 pm

    the truth is so upsetting, isn’t it. especially for those who live here in New Orleans,

    get over it. lol

  20. 20.

    wrb

    May 15, 2010 at 2:20 pm

    @jwb:

    I doubt that Cheney has the integrity to form a plug. The BOP would work like a pasta machine.

  21. 21.

    Bernard

    May 15, 2010 at 2:22 pm

    oh wait i was wrong to single out Yes We Can! i didn’t know he had the authority to cancel those leases. after all it was all Cheney’s fault, or was it Salazar’s fault.

    it’s so difficult to keep track of who is screwing whom. i mean, when all those leases were approved after “Yes We Can” took control of the Presidency.

    i must be wrong somehow. lol. oh well, what’s a little oil in a big big Gulf.

  22. 22.

    arguingwithsignposts

    May 15, 2010 at 2:23 pm

    @Bernard:
    speaking as someone whose entire early life was spent within miles of a petrochem plant in SETX and whose step-father spent most of his unionized career in a petrochem plant, here’s a hearty fuck off to you for suggesting this is obama’s fault at all.

    ETA: Sorry, didn’t mean to feed the troll.

  23. 23.

    Church Lady

    May 15, 2010 at 2:26 pm

    In the report, Obama says Salazar recognized the problems and has worked to fix them. Until this happened, exactly what has Salazar and the Administration done? Maybe I just missed it, but I don’t remember any big announcements concerning offshore drilling (other than possibly expanding it, but now put on hold) coming out. Have there been any new fed regulations issued or any new legislation in Congress conerning these issues in the last 15 months that anyone can remember off the top of their head? Seriously asking, not placing blame.

  24. 24.

    Elie

    May 15, 2010 at 2:26 pm

    This is so much a reprise of the financial crisis.

    The Greedy executives of BP will be allowed to lovely anonymity and will pay no price – no heavy burden for destroying what can never be replaced — both lives of men and lives of creatures in the Gulf.

    Heads on pikes is what I would like — heads on pikes. Medieval but absolutely proportional to the crime in both instances…

    I am not an innocent anymore than anyone else who uses oil or oil products. But we CAN insist on competence, we can insist on diligence and preparadness and seriousness. We got none of that and each day that follows the previous with this horror spewing, is our earth literally bleeding from a wound of our greed and need.

    We really have no idea whether this thing will wipe out the entire Gulf coast ecology.

    If not heads on pikes, than a mandated swim for the executives — with no lifevests. This will manifest for them the reality of what lack of preparadness and serious safety can mean — swimming in toxic oil without life preservers or sight of land. Yeah — that just feels about right…

  25. 25.

    AhabTRuler

    May 15, 2010 at 2:28 pm

    @Bernard:

    especially for those who live here in New Orleans

    Oh, so then you didn’t have a problem with petrodollars until after the well blew out. Noted.

  26. 26.

    cleek

    May 15, 2010 at 2:28 pm

    one might wonder if the msm is actively trying to make people think there’s no point in paying attention to politics

  27. 27.

    MattF

    May 15, 2010 at 2:29 pm

    Yeah, I saw that headline… God is clearly angry with us for mistrusting an oil company, and Obama’s to blame. Teleprompter, DIjon mustard, and Bill Ayers, too.

  28. 28.

    Corner Stone

    May 15, 2010 at 2:30 pm

    @bago: Ummm…co-sign?

  29. 29.

    Corner Stone

    May 15, 2010 at 2:31 pm

    @arguingwithsignposts: How is this relevant?

  30. 30.

    Bernard

    May 15, 2010 at 2:31 pm

    living here in New Orleans, born and raised, i wouldn’t dare accuse Obama of being party to this whole tawdry affair. i mean he just got elected courtesy of BP and other corporations. he’s too green, lol, to have his fingers in this pie, yet.

    you must be mistaken if you think i’d believe it was all Yes we Can’s” fault. he’s just taken over where Cheney et al left off.

    gosh to think someone would actually call me anti oil. now that’s one for the books!!!! lol

  31. 31.

    Corner Stone

    May 15, 2010 at 2:32 pm

    @MikeJ: Wouldn’t we just find more black liquid inside there?

  32. 32.

    wrb

    May 15, 2010 at 2:33 pm

    @Church Lady:

    About a year ago the MMS proposed moving away from the self-policing system and requiring inspections at least every three years. BP objected strongly in written testimony that is now a wee bit embarrassing. I don’t know if or how this was resolved.

    I believe I read somewhere that the person appointed to oversee the MMS was one of those who suffered a Republican hold.

  33. 33.

    Emma

    May 15, 2010 at 2:33 pm

    Bill H: That being said, it doesn’t sit well to have him on the very same day blatting about how the Republicans “ran the car into the ditch,” when Democrats have been in control of Congress for more than three full years.

    Really? You really believe that talking about trying to clean up eight years’ worth of unholy mess, while fighting the conservatives of your own party, is blatting? And that I know of, Obama was inaugurated in 2009. Or did I do a Torchwood and fall into the Rift and came out later?

    And Bernard, adults don’t pepper their insults with LOL. It’s gauche and better left for the Facebook teenagers.

  34. 34.

    cleek

    May 15, 2010 at 2:33 pm

    and Bernard joins the Pie Patrol!

  35. 35.

    Bernard

    May 15, 2010 at 2:34 pm

    i don’t mind watching the oil companies hasten the demise of the Wetlands with their service canals or dump chemicals in to the bayous here or buy Mary Landrieu and, and, and. well this is a deep subject here in LA. the history of oil in LA a long one

    no, wouldn’t dare say anything against the oil companies here.
    after they left New Orleans in the 80’s high and dry, i wouldn’t know anything about their commitment to screwing anyone and everyone for the might dollar!!

    that is definitely not what i am saying. where in the world did you get that idea?

  36. 36.

    arguingwithsignposts

    May 15, 2010 at 2:34 pm

    @Corner Stone:
    Meaning NO doesn’t own the fucking gulf of mexico, or the shitstorm that is going to fall upon it. Or that petro companies have been blameless previously. “Yes We Can” didn’t create this mess. He won’t end it, either, sadly.

  37. 37.

    Corner Stone

    May 15, 2010 at 2:35 pm

    @comrade scott’s agenda of rage:

    These groups can’t go tits up fast enough.

    Not to derail this righteous hate-on or anything.
    But to this day I have never understood how the phrase “tits up” became a bad thing.
    Personally, I’m a fan of it. Up, down, sideways, in stasis. Not sure how it equals “failure”.

  38. 38.

    Mark S.

    May 15, 2010 at 2:35 pm

    Krugman:

    Thinking about BP and the Gulf: in this old interview, Milton Friedman says that there’s no need for product safety regulation, because corporations know that if they do harm they’ll be sued.

    I sort of wish every libertarian could go the entirely enjoyable experience of being seriously harmed by a big corporation and then spending the next eight to twelve years of their life trying to sue that big corporation.

    Jesus, I can’t believe they gave a Nobel Prize for translating Atlas Shrugged into mathematical form.

  39. 39.

    bago

    May 15, 2010 at 2:35 pm

    @Corner Stone: What?

    Co- Sign? No contractual agreements mentioned. Cosine? Nothing particularly geometric, unless you’re making a rather oblique point.

  40. 40.

    Linda Featheringill

    May 15, 2010 at 2:36 pm

    Bernard:

    It is good to have someone actually living the NO area to add to the mix on this blog. Welcome.

    And to have someone who is adept at sarcasm is also good. :-)

    I must tell you that it does get a little lively around here now and then. Just so that you know.

  41. 41.

    licensed to kill time

    May 15, 2010 at 2:36 pm

    __

    gosh to think someone would actually call me anti oil. now that’s one for the books! lol

    I’d call you an oily ant, though.

  42. 42.

    Kryptik

    May 15, 2010 at 2:36 pm

    Predictably, the comments on the CBS site are about 80% Teahadists who act like the whole damn thing should’ve been wrapped up with a snap of Obama’s fingers, and that it hasn’t is proof that he WANTED the spill.

    Funny how all those ‘Liberal Media’ sites seem to have overwhelmingly right-wing morons posting in their comments sections, huh? Not to mention those who make fun of Obama being a ‘Messiah’ being the ones wondering why Obama hasn’t fixed everything the day before it happened.

  43. 43.

    Corner Stone

    May 15, 2010 at 2:37 pm

    @arguingwithsignposts: Ok. We’re on two different planes of understanding. Which is fine.

  44. 44.

    cat48

    May 15, 2010 at 2:37 pm

    @Church Lady: He announced more exploration in 3 areas. I think the Gulf, Alaska, & VA wants to drill & is waiting a permit they have had in. NOT drilling or leases; the speech clearly said exploration only. It would be about 10 yrs before leases and drilling started from the exploration.

    On the other hand, when he took office; there were already 100 rigs going in the Gulf. I assume they are still pumping. So theoretically, we could have 100 more of these.

  45. 45.

    Corner Stone

    May 15, 2010 at 2:39 pm

    @bago: This:

    The following separation then enables the “Yeah, but it’s our guy” mentality that leads to endorsement of assassination squads

  46. 46.

    Corner Stone

    May 15, 2010 at 2:41 pm

    @AhabTRuler:

    Oh, so then you didn’t have a problem with petrodollars until after the well blew out. Noted.

    And if he did?

  47. 47.

    El Cid

    May 15, 2010 at 2:42 pm

    This would never have happened if Obama hadn’t appointed Bill Ayers to head the MMS and he and ACORN and the New Black Panthers and PETA and the ELF hadn’t blown the rig up.

  48. 48.

    ppcli

    May 15, 2010 at 2:42 pm

    “That being said, it doesn’t sit well to have him on the very same day blatting about how the Republicans “ran the car into the ditch,” when Democrats have been in control of Congress for more than three full years.”

    I blame Congress for many things. But the principal “into the ditch driving” that the government did in this particular case was done by the Minerals Management Service, which just didn’t do the job that it was charged to do under several laws, including the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. And though I’m not familiar with the Interior department organizational chart, I have a feeling that the non-performance of duties was done by a cadre of Liberty University and Regent University graduates burrowed into career civil service slots by the previous administration.

    The only bright spot in this disaster is that the entire culture of that agency has to be radically changed, and this catastrophe will be the grounds for a lot of pink slips. Normally I don’t like to celebrate seeing people get the sack, but these folks will quickly find comfortable jobs with Haliburton and Exxon.

  49. 49.

    Elie

    May 15, 2010 at 2:43 pm

    Bernard —

    Only comment to your comment/s is that if you stay in sarcasm mode, your meaning may get lost in misinterpretation and undue snark.

    Please come up for air once in a while with a straight up point — the comment threads can be confusing enough and if you are just yanking beards all the time, well, you get to be both boring and obscure…

    Just sayin…

    Have a nice day!

  50. 50.

    arguingwithsignposts

    May 15, 2010 at 2:43 pm

    I’m thinking we need some michael brown up in this stuff!

  51. 51.

    Bernard

    May 15, 2010 at 2:45 pm

    watching the Government/Corporations screw South La for years, especially after Katrina, is not something we down here take without saying something. just because it is mostly poor and ignorant, which works well for the scammers of all types, doesn’t mean there aren’t some who don’t like being used.

    if the oil companies had spent some money into repairing the wetlands they “helped” destroy after reaping billions for umpteen years, they might have earned some good will from those who don’t work in the oil field. those of us who never got any “money” from their exploitation of “Our Oil” are pretty pissed at what they have done.

    you know, hush money, would be nice. at least once in a while. it would be nice to be appreciated, this getting screwed endlessly for oil does get a little tiring.

    after Katrina we got really pissed at the scam the Gov, courtesy of Bush, pulled on us. you know we are poor and we cant buy Congress or presidents. now to have these Oil corporations pollute the Gulf as well. well, that’s a little too much too soon after Katrina.

    like when does it stop???

  52. 52.

    cat48

    May 15, 2010 at 2:45 pm

    @wrb:

    NYT said she was confirmed in 07/09. Less than a yr to turn around a dept. Obama did split it up this wk so hopefully that will help.

  53. 53.

    Kryptik

    May 15, 2010 at 2:47 pm

    @arguingwithsignposts:

    Didn’t you hear? Michael Brown already called this Obama’s Katrina and that he was purposely sandbagging a response in order to justify cutting off offshore drilling.

    Funny how blatant projection just…never seems to register with those ‘Librul Media’ folks, no matter how transparent it is.

  54. 54.

    Bernard

    May 15, 2010 at 2:48 pm

    yes i am very very sarcastic. there is a lot lost in translation.

  55. 55.

    Cacti

    May 15, 2010 at 2:49 pm

    Obama is completely to blame for not dispatching the National sub-oceanic oil leak repair team to fix this crisis.

    The pipe rupture was caused by Mother Earth hitching and sobbing over finding out that Obama signed 27 oil leases!

    PUMA! ROWRRRRR!1!

  56. 56.

    arguingwithsignposts

    May 15, 2010 at 2:49 pm

    @Bernard:
    Honestly, I get your beef, but it’s not like SETX has been spared the petrochem bullshit either. Or Miss. or Ala. And frankly, nobody on the gulf coast is going to be spared this storm.

    tl; dr: Louisiana isn’t sucking it alone.

  57. 57.

    FormerSwingVoter

    May 15, 2010 at 2:50 pm

    Where was all this “everything that happens ever is somehow the President’s fault” stuff during the last administration?

  58. 58.

    slag

    May 15, 2010 at 2:50 pm

    @cat48:

    Ambinder said a week ago that Obama was “doing a slow burn” over the spill and was becoming more angry daily.

    As are we all.

    Chip Reid can go fuck himself.

  59. 59.

    Bill H

    May 15, 2010 at 2:51 pm

    @Emma:
    @ppcli:
    I knew that was coming.

    Of course it’s the Republican’s fault. That, my dears, is not my point.

    My point is, “Now is not the time for placing blame. Now is the time for stepping up and taking responsibility for correcting the problem.”

    That is what he said immediately before going to another platform to say, “The Republicans ran the car into the ditch.”

  60. 60.

    cat48

    May 15, 2010 at 2:52 pm

    @Bill H: Actually the Republican rant by him was the nite before at a DNC fundraiser.

    It was on Morning Ho yesterday morning.

  61. 61.

    Bernard

    May 15, 2010 at 2:53 pm

    yes this time it’s all over the place.

  62. 62.

    Drive By Wisdom

    May 15, 2010 at 2:55 pm

    I see that the liberals are apologizing non-stop for Obama not fixing the supposed problems with offshore drilling, and blaming Bush. I guess he cannot do in 15 months what Bush was supposed to have done in 8. At least he took responsibility and did not blame Clinton.

    NOT drilling or leases; the speech clearly said exploration only

    You ignorant liberals really need to get out and work once in your lives. Exactly what do you think they do when they ‘explore’ for oil fields in the ocean?

  63. 63.

    Elie

    May 15, 2010 at 2:57 pm

    @Bernard:

    I hear you — no answer..

    How many of these are in the offing for the near future elsewhere?

    How many sites are enduring slow degradation — reduced catches, etc…

    We here in NW WA state have seen the salmon fishery go into slow collapse for the last decade, and still we have folks here on the advocate side putting hush hush fingers to lips to not say the obvious: Where did all the salmon go? What are we really going to do about it?

    Instead, many of these organizations worry most about their own survival and have been jolly happy to take hand outs from industry, (here the big dog IS BP)…

    Make no mistake, Bernard — while we have not undergone the insult that NO has by any measure, we are a bunch of poor whores, hat in hand to the big Oil massa… We also live in a fragile and imperiled eco system of islands and estuaries, marshes and the like. One of BPs oil tankers up ends in the Straight of Georgia and we are fucked probably even worse than the Gulf — ..

    Meanwhile, even without such calamity, we have no more salmon, decreased feeder fish such as herring and each year I look out on water with fewer and fewer sea birds…

    BP’s fault? No — of course not. OUR fault — ALL are punished, ALL of us.. that black oil might as well be blood… we are murdering our selves…

  64. 64.

    Bruce (formerly Steve S.)

    May 15, 2010 at 2:57 pm

    Certainly the corporate whores deserve the lion’s share of the blame, but we as a society have been quite content to enjoy our cheap gasoline regardless of the human and environmental cost. We’ve determined that workers running the risk of being immolated in the middle of the ocean and countless thousands of animals being killed is far less important than our ability to jump in the car and drive two blocks for a Slurpee.

    I have an idea. Unlimited offshore drilling, but every adult citizen has to spend a month out of every year on an oil rig. Two months for politicians.

  65. 65.

    Cacti

    May 15, 2010 at 2:57 pm

    @Drive By Wisdom:

    I like pie.

    Fascinating.

  66. 66.

    Linda Featheringill

    May 15, 2010 at 2:58 pm

    @Bernard: I happen to know that the lack of money is not proof of lack of intelligence. Story of my life.

    And yes, I agree that the people of New Orleans have been used. By a lot of different people.

    You might as well be verbal about your anger. Being quiet hasn’t done you much good, has it?

  67. 67.

    QuaintIrene

    May 15, 2010 at 2:59 pm

    Bernard

    You can always spot the troll. They use the ‘lol’ a wee bit too much. Like a crap comedian having to laugh at his own ‘jokes.’

  68. 68.

    Bill H

    May 15, 2010 at 2:59 pm

    @cat48:
    Okay, so my point is invalid due to 24 hours as to timing?

    On the oil debacle time to step up and accept responsibility for correcting the damned thing.
    On the economy it is time to blame somebody else for the problem.

    Yesterday, today, tomorrow, whenever.

  69. 69.

    Elizabelle

    May 15, 2010 at 2:59 pm

    @Linda Featheringill:

    Laziness speaking here. Could you provide links to some the Gulf states’ papers’ comment threads? Would love to see what some readers are thinking, unfiltered.

    (Although your blogging public and the [wo]man on the street are frequently different cats.)

    Chip Reid is an asswipe. Seriously.

    False equivalency of the day award.

  70. 70.

    slag

    May 15, 2010 at 3:00 pm

    @Cacti: And Drive By Pie can go fuck himself too.

  71. 71.

    cat48

    May 15, 2010 at 3:05 pm

    @Bill H:

    Bush and friends drove the economy into the ground! He left a $1.3T deficit and a bunch of failed banks with depleted 40lk’s for all. Don’t even put that on anyone but him. Republicans cut taxes & spent their asses off! They did drive it in the ditch.

  72. 72.

    scav

    May 15, 2010 at 3:06 pm

    mmm, maybe the giant squid is the one that disabled the big BOP so that the oil execs could take the heat off the bank execs for a bit.

    and my red queen mental exercise of the day is visualizing the abject prostration of big govt to big business needs that is called socializm by the tri-cornered masses.

  73. 73.

    ppcli

    May 15, 2010 at 3:07 pm

    @Drive By Wisdom:

    “I see that the liberals are apologizing non-stop for Obama not fixing the supposed problems with offshore drilling, and blaming Bush. I guess he cannot do in 15 months what Bush was supposed to have done in 8.”

    a) You have a point. It is quite embarrassing for Obama that he ignored the “BP determined to strike in Gulf” memo and told the person who offered it “OK, now you’ve covered your ass.” But he can make it up by invading Iran, because a BP executive was seen meeting with Iranian intelligence in Prague.

    b) “*supposed* problems”? I take it that in your view these oil slicks are a desirable feature?

  74. 74.

    Cacti

    May 15, 2010 at 3:08 pm

    @Drive By Wisdom:

    I see that the liberals are apologizing non-stop for Obama not fixing the supposed problems with offshore drilling

    Looks like someone forgot their Ronald Reagan 101. Government’s only jobs is to stay out of the way of infallible private industry.

    There couldn’t be any problems with offshore drilling. Private Industry could never create problems in the first place. They create the rising tide that drowns everyone in a giant oil spill lifts all boats, and trickles down its goodness on all of us.

  75. 75.

    Linda Featheringill

    May 15, 2010 at 3:08 pm

    @Elizabelle: Gulf states newspapers, with comments.

    http://www.nola.com [New Orleans]

    http://www.al.com [Alabama]

    http://www.miamiherald.com [Florida]

    http://www.chron.com [Houston]

    Enjoy.

  76. 76.

    Chyron HR

    May 15, 2010 at 3:09 pm

    @Drive By Wisdom:

    I see that the teabaggers are apologizing non-stop for Bush.

  77. 77.

    Linda Featheringill

    May 15, 2010 at 3:09 pm

    Elizabelle: My reply is going through moderation because of too many links. But it should make its way through eventually.

  78. 78.

    Zuzu's Petals

    May 15, 2010 at 3:14 pm

    @Bernard:

    If you’re going to rant, at least get your facts straight. MMS has NOT approved 27 drilling leases since the accident, but has granted categorical exclusions with respect to certain types of reports; this is not the same as approving a drilling application. The drilling application is a separate process, and no applications can be approved until Salazar lifts the moratorium on new drilling.

  79. 79.

    Libby

    May 15, 2010 at 3:17 pm

    Leaving aside the whole failure to invest in renewable energy and move away from fossil fuels, this whole meme of it’s all Obama’s fault for not fixing it, is pissing me off. I’m seeing this not just from cons either, that Obama isn’t doing enough. As I said on twitter this morning, what the hell more is he supposed to be doing? Do people think he can just stop it by sticking his finger in the hole, like that Dutch kid with the dike?

    I can’t imagine how he could be more engaged in solving this thing and he’s keeping the pressure on BP to fix it.

  80. 80.

    scav

    May 15, 2010 at 3:18 pm

    @Drive By Wisdom:

    I see that the liberals are apologizing non-stop for Obama not fixing the supposed problems with offshore drilling, and blaming Bush.

    And I see that the conservatives are criticizing Obama non-stop for not implementing the govt. restrictions that they insist are unnecessary.

    I’m furthermore most amused that the problems with off-shore drilling are still only “supposed” in your universe. Situation Normal, All Systems Functioning Perfectly. Clearly, your ideal day at the beach is, um, not shared by all.

  81. 81.

    bago

    May 15, 2010 at 3:18 pm

    @Corner Stone: Still not seeing how co-signing has anything to do with Cheney’s belief that he had the power to assassinate anyone he wanted with commandos, compared to Obama’s belief that he can assassinate anyone he wants with robots.

    This IS what some of us are talking about.

  82. 82.

    Linda Featheringill

    May 15, 2010 at 3:18 pm

    Elizabelle:

    I am still in moderation. So be it. Let’s try it this way:

    Nola dot com [New Orleans]

    Al dot com [Alabama]

    Miami Herald dot com [Florida]

    Chron dot com [Houston]

    You may notice that Mississippi is missing. Haven’t run into a good site yet.

  83. 83.

    bago

    May 15, 2010 at 3:21 pm

    Ooh! Multi-pie and accusations of Teabaggery against old-timers. This should be fun.

  84. 84.

    Brachiator

    May 15, 2010 at 3:23 pm

    @Mark S.:

    I sort of wish every libertarian could go the entirely enjoyable experience of being seriously harmed by a big corporation and then spending the next eight to twelve years of their life trying to sue that big corporation.

    The strange thing is that many libertarians have some strange psychological defect that leads them to deny any harm that might be caused by their loony beliefs.

    By the way, this also explains Sarah Palin’s recent speech in which she doubles down on “drill baby drill.”

    @Bruce (formerly Steve S.):

    Certainly the corporate whores deserve the lion’s share of the blame, but we as a society have been quite content to enjoy our cheap gasoline regardless of the human and environmental cost. We’ve determined that workers running the risk of being immolated in the middle of the ocean and countless thousands of animals being killed is far less important than our ability to jump in the car and drive two blocks for a Slurpee.

    I disagree with you here. The average person has no problem with reasonable regulation, health and safety legislation and — despite the perpetual whining of conservatives and libertarian goofballs — these efforts do not stymie production or lead to excessive cost increases.

  85. 85.

    TenguPhule

    May 15, 2010 at 3:24 pm

    The simplest solution here is to publically publish the names, addresses and pictures of the BP executives, upper management and lawyers.

    With helpful directions to their homes, security layouts and floorplans.

    The invisible hand of the free market can take it from there.

  86. 86.

    Elizabelle

    May 15, 2010 at 3:25 pm

    @cleek:

    cleek at 26, FTW:

    one might wonder if the msm is actively trying to make people think there’s no point in paying attention to politics

    All the false equivalencies. Maybe our “journalists”, particularly those on TV, are not smart or well-educated enough — certainly a possibility, but maybe there is something else at work.

    Linda: thanks, and will check back later for the links.

  87. 87.

    TenguPhule

    May 15, 2010 at 3:26 pm

    I guess he cannot do in 15 months what Bush was supposed to have done in 8.

    When a drunk asshole shits the car for eight years, we do not blame the luckless soul who gets the keys right afterwards when the whole thing falls apart.

  88. 88.

    Bill E Pilgrim

    May 15, 2010 at 3:27 pm

    @Bill H:

    My point is, “Now is not the time for placing blame. Now is the time for stepping up and taking responsibility for correcting the problem.”
    That is what he said immediately before going to another platform to say, “The Republicans ran the car into the ditch.”

    Oh does that actually confuse you? Let me try to explain in simple terms:

    Now is not the time to waste time placing blame for the oil leak because it’s still live and happening now. Now is the time to concentrate on fixing it. That’s why no one wanted to see the people who are clearly responsible for it avoiding responsibility. The point is, some combination of those who were testifying are obviously responsible, so all three of them claiming “No, not us” was shameful, just as Obama said, especially when we need to be fixing it, not saying “I didn’t do it” like children.

    Now, the financial crisis was at this point in 2008. The crashing, burning, hemmoraging part. That wasn’t the time to waste time assigning blame either, it was the time to put all energy into fixing it.

    Now’s the time to assign responsibility for that. So we can know what went wrong, and not do it again.

    And of course, claiming that it’s Obama who was responsible for that crisis when he hadn’t even become President yet would be beyond dishonest hackery, but that seems to be a right wing specialty these days, so go for it.

  89. 89.

    Drive By Wisdom

    May 15, 2010 at 3:27 pm

    And I see that the conservatives are criticizing Obama non-stop for not implementing the govt. restrictions that they insist are unnecessary.

    I see, they are criticizing more restrictions are not being done that are unnecessary.

    Really, could you go more than one sentence without tripping over yourselves?

    Maybe on your way to the next Joan Baez concert in your green Prius powered by Unicorn droppings, you should give reality a ponder.

  90. 90.

    TenguPhule

    May 15, 2010 at 3:29 pm

    Really, could you go more than one sentence without tripping over yourselves?

    Not a big believer in Irony are you.

    But Irony believes in you.

  91. 91.

    Elizabelle

    May 15, 2010 at 3:30 pm

    Time for that spiffy Mike Allen to go “interview” Dick Cheney and see what the dark master has to say on the BP oil spill.

  92. 92.

    Cacti

    May 15, 2010 at 3:33 pm

    @Drive By Wisdom:

    I see, they are criticizing more restrictions are not being done that are unnecessary.

    Why would they criticize not doing unnecessary restrictions?

  93. 93.

    Brachiator

    May 15, 2010 at 3:34 pm

    @Drive By Wisdom:

    I see that the liberals are apologizing non-stop for Obama not fixing the supposed problems with offshore drilling, and blaming Bush.

    Wait. You mean the giant oil spill is a figment of our imaginations?

  94. 94.

    Bill E Pilgrim

    May 15, 2010 at 3:35 pm

    @Drive By Wisdom:

    I see, they are criticizing more restrictions are not being done that are unnecessary.

    Exactly. Hey don’t blame us for their lack of internal logic, it’s what conservatives do these days.

    “Government activity is evil and you’re not doing enough of it” is pretty much the conservative attack these days.

    It’s pretty much the “The food is terrible here/Yes, and such small portions” logic. Go figure.

  95. 95.

    Cacti

    May 15, 2010 at 3:35 pm

    @TenguPhule:

    Not a big believer in Irony are you.

    But Irony believes in you.

    One child apparently did get left behind.

  96. 96.

    Martin

    May 15, 2010 at 3:37 pm

    I’m going to have to be a bit of a dissenter since I think Obama did drop the ball here. Not directly related to BP, since that’s still and always going to be on them, but the problems in the MMS were known before he won the election and should have been on the short list of things to fix. Yes, there were lots of agencies with problems, but the MMS ones were clearly serious quite some time ago, and I can’t imagine they would have been all that difficult to resolve – it’s not a huge agency.

    What role the agency has played in all of this over the last 16 months isn’t clear and how much of any of this might have been able to be headed off is less so, but Obama feels that structural changes are needed immediately. I think it was equally apparent they were needed 2 years ago.

    Now, from everything I’ve read, I don’t see any failing in Obama’s response other than not pushing BP to their breaking point to step up the response. They seem to be taking a serial approach to stopping this leak – waiting for one thing to fail before dreaming up the next. It’s a good cost-saving approach if you assume that you’ll be able to weasel out of the clean up costs, which clearly they believe they will, and if you assume that saving access to the well is more important than stopping the leak. BP should have taken a parallel approach – dream up every reasonable solution and put them all in motion at once. If the dome thing failed, have the smaller one ready – engineers predicted the dome would fail for precisely the reasons it did – have the junk shot ready, have everything ready so as soon as one fails you’re already staged for the next thing. Hell, the dome and the junk shot aren’t mutually exclusive acts – do them both at once.

    The fact that none of the companies involved in this disaster are US companies somewhat limits the government’s ability to act. I’d have no problem, much as with the ports deal under Bush, of Congress requiring that all companies operating a domestic lease be US companies, or putting significant additional burdens on foreign based companies for operating domestic leases.

  97. 97.

    Linda Featheringill

    May 15, 2010 at 3:38 pm

    By the way:

    For two days in a row, I could not get onto balloon juice. Or rather, I could get onto it for about a second and a half and then fall out of the connection. Multiple refresh motions. Eventually a sign saying that no more refresh attempts will be made.

    Then, it magically cleared up about 11:30 a.m. on both days.

    Has anyone else had these problems?

  98. 98.

    Bill E Pilgrim

    May 15, 2010 at 3:45 pm

    @Martin: Yes, but you have to realize that what the conservatives are trying to claim is a parallel between this and Katrina. Your conclusion that Obama did nothing wrong except maybe not push BP harder in some specific way or not soon enough- meh, okay even if true this doesn’t rise to any “dropping the ball” if you ask me.

    Plus as I say, the debate they’re trying to turn this into is around their claim that this is the same as people in New Orleans stranded without help for days and weeks because of government incompetence, with serious loss of life and all the rest of it.

    It’s bullshit, sorry.

    I criticize Barack Obama for lots of things. I think his “drill baby drill” period that lasted three weeks was shameful pandering and little more. I think he panders a lot actually and I hate it.

    This right wing “katrina” or “failed response” to an oil company’s leak is utter nonsense however.

  99. 99.

    Zuzu's Petals

    May 15, 2010 at 3:45 pm

    @Church Lady:

    In the report, Obama says Salazar recognized the problems and has worked to fix them. Until this happened, exactly what has Salazar and the Administration done? Maybe I just missed it, but I don’t remember any big announcements concerning offshore drilling (other than possibly expanding it, but now put on hold) coming out. Have there been any new fed regulations issued or any new legislation in Congress conerning these issues in the last 15 months that anyone can remember off the top of their head? Seriously asking, not placing blame.

    One result of a five-second Google search:

    (Jan. 7, 2010) Salazar Unveils Drilling Reforms …
    The agency also will curb use of so-called categorical exclusions, which allow one broad environmental-impact statement on a drilling application to serve for all subsequent requests for drilling permits in the same area.

  100. 100.

    Corner Stone

    May 15, 2010 at 3:46 pm

    @bago: Well. Touche. And all that.
    You have bested me this day sir.

    We will meet again on the fields of honor.

  101. 101.

    TenguPhule

    May 15, 2010 at 3:46 pm

    The fact that none of the companies involved in this disaster are US companies somewhat limits the government’s ability to act.

    Not Really.

    Nationalized Asset Seizure! Blackhawk Special Forces in the Night breaking through windows and accidently shooting an overwieght CEO as he tries to flee through a back door!

    BP Enemy combatants!

  102. 102.

    cleek

    May 15, 2010 at 3:46 pm

    On the economy it is time to blame somebody else for the problem.

    since you’re clearly too stupid to understand words, maybe a pretty picture will help.

    though i doubt it.

  103. 103.

    Brachiator

    May 15, 2010 at 3:46 pm

    @Linda Featheringill:

    Has anyone else had these problems?

    I think so. I sometimes access Balloon Juice using IE8 (which always shifts to compatibility mode). Often it did some weird “refresh” routine to attempt to access the site and a few times still failed to connect.

  104. 104.

    cleek

    May 15, 2010 at 3:47 pm

    no problems getting to the BJ, here.

  105. 105.

    SiubhanDuinne

    May 15, 2010 at 3:49 pm

    @Linda Featheringill #97: Not that precise problem,, but yes. Once every couple of weeks, Balloon Juice (access, not content) has me screaming WTF???

    Okay, content too, sometimes.

  106. 106.

    Martin

    May 15, 2010 at 3:49 pm

    And to illustrate what I think Obama is doing better than, well, any modern predecessor is this piece from Josh Green:

    It should be recognized, though, because when it comes to government disaster response, the Bush years marked a low point and right now we’re experiencing a high point. For a vivid illustration of this disparity, look no further than the Gulf. During Katrina, FEMA director Michael Brown secured his place history as the poster boy for government incompetence. Now consider Chu, the Nobel Prize Winner who has been at BP headquarters in Houston with a team of government scientists trying to figure out how to stop the leak. According to a government official, BP initially “dismissed” Chu’s gamma ray suggestion, but came back a week later and admitted “Chu’s right.”

    I can’t state strongly enough how incredibly good a choice Chu was for Energy Sec, and I can’t say how pleased I am to see that Chu is personally camping out in BP headquarters, not just being a bureaucrat, but also being a physicist. The way to put the lie to the anti-science right is by putting more top scientists and engineers in charge of things. Many are outstanding managers (many are terrible) but I can’t think of a single property that a non-scientist could bring to a position like Sec Energy than could be found in someone like Chu.

  107. 107.

    Corner Stone

    May 15, 2010 at 3:49 pm

    @bago: Ok, I just re-read and my snark O meter is blown out like a failed BOP.
    WTF are you trying to tell me?

  108. 108.

    Corner Stone

    May 15, 2010 at 3:52 pm

    @cleek:

    no problems getting to the BJ, here.

    I envy you.

  109. 109.

    Corner Stone

    May 15, 2010 at 3:53 pm

    @TenguPhule: Only if they have Corgis in the house.
    Then that would F’ng rule!!

  110. 110.

    bemused

    May 15, 2010 at 3:58 pm

    @Mark S.:
    Friedman also enthusiastically said tort law would “absolutely!” take care of the problem of corps shirking safety regulations so of course we must reform tort law until it is totally gutted.

  111. 111.

    cat48

    May 15, 2010 at 3:58 pm

    @Linda Featheringill:

    Yes, I have the new 8ie and I have to hit compatibility view to get in without repeated Refresh, etc.

  112. 112.

    norris hall

    May 15, 2010 at 3:58 pm

    Interesting how Cheney’s company Halliberton shows up once again in a very unflattering light.
    These guys can’t shoot straight.
    Everything they are doing to stop this leak “has never been done before”
    That means they were so confident they’d never have a blowout that they never bothered to test out several methods for stopping oil leaks like this.

    It’s like the guys who built the Titanic. They never thought it would sink so they didn’t even have enough lifeboats onboard.

    I’m quickly becoming a fan of meaningful government regulations

  113. 113.

    Anya

    May 15, 2010 at 3:59 pm

    @arguingwithsignposts: In yet another elitist move Obama asks a group of scientists to come up with a solution.

  114. 114.

    Elizabelle

    May 15, 2010 at 4:02 pm

    @Linda Featheringill:

    Linda: thanks for the links at 75. Appreciate it.

  115. 115.

    Brachiator

    May 15, 2010 at 4:07 pm

    @Martin:

    The way to put the lie to the anti-science right is by putting more top scientists and engineers in charge of things. Many are outstanding managers (many are terrible) but I can’t think of a single property that a non-scientist could bring to a position like Sec Energy than could be found in someone like Chu.

    And this is another reason why the GOP will continue to hit Obama with the foolishness that the oil spill is his Katrina, and why “Ignorance is Bliss” poster child Sarah Palin will continue to ramp up her drill baby drill (and Obama is a commie pinko Muslim coming for your guns) idiocy.

    More than anything else, the Bush/Cheney Administration was dedicated to the proposition that non-biased competence did not matter, and was in fact dangerous and had to be remedied with ideology-based cronyism, and a dash of baby Jebus fundamentalism.

  116. 116.

    Broken

    May 15, 2010 at 4:07 pm

    Chip Reid is just a ventriloquist dummy for the republicans. But who pays attention to CBS News anymore?

  117. 117.

    cat48

    May 15, 2010 at 4:08 pm

    I wonder where Dick is anyway. We had an attempted car bomb and not a peep. Hmm

  118. 118.

    Linda Featheringill

    May 15, 2010 at 4:18 pm

    @cat48: And where would I find the “compatibility” thingy to hit?

  119. 119.

    Punchy

    May 15, 2010 at 4:19 pm

    Apparently nobody in the BP org has seen Axel Foley stick a banana in a tail pipe.

    They’re building top hats and junk shots and all they really need to do is study Beverly Hills Cop. Unfuckinreal.

    Head to Publix and grab 200 bananas. Mission complete.

  120. 120.

    Zuzu's Petals

    May 15, 2010 at 4:23 pm

    @Zuzu’s Petals:

    As to legislation, there’s HR 3534:

    House Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) introduced a bill yesterday to forge a new Interior agency to govern oil and gas leasing on federal lands and to overhaul the federal royalty system….. The far-reaching bill also includes measures to improve planning for offshore energy development, address wind and solar programs, and boost funding for ocean conservation and land acquisition. It comes largely as a response to a series of scandals and scathing government watchdog reports on the federal agencies that handle oil and gas drilling on public lands.

    Salazar expressed his willingness to work with Congress on legislation reorganizing the agency.

    Unfortunately the bill is still languishing in committee.

  121. 121.

    Corner Stone

    May 15, 2010 at 4:24 pm

    @cat48:

    I wonder where Dick is anyway. We had an attempted car bomb and not a peep. Hmm

    In his man size safe going through a transfusion to replace his oily blood with pure fetus blood?

  122. 122.

    Corner Stone

    May 15, 2010 at 4:34 pm

    @cat48: Also, I feel a little bad for your partner.

  123. 123.

    burnspbesq

    May 15, 2010 at 4:37 pm

    This is odd.

    Corner Stone seems to have developed an insatiable appetite for pie.

    (Thanks, Cleek. I owe you.)

  124. 124.

    wrb

    May 15, 2010 at 4:38 pm

    @Martin:

    Sure would be nice if Chu becomes the hero here.

    Even if he doesn’t land a plane in the Hudson, the advice of the Hero Scientist on such topics as climate change might carry a little more weight than that of some pencil-necked academic.

  125. 125.

    cat48

    May 15, 2010 at 4:39 pm

    @Linda Featheringill:

    That would be under “Tools” on toolbar, hit “Compatibility View”, and a popup will give you a few choices. I changed it to “View Every Website in Compatibility” and it seems to be working fine now.

  126. 126.

    valdivia

    May 15, 2010 at 4:39 pm

    totally OT and I don’t know how many of you are familiar with the Strindberg &Helium cartoons. Anyway, they have a twitter feed! OMG. Miseryyyyyyyyyyyy!

  127. 127.

    cat48

    May 15, 2010 at 4:41 pm

    @Corner Stone:

    Who?

  128. 128.

    Linda Featheringill

    May 15, 2010 at 4:46 pm

    @cat48: Thank you.

    My in-house IT person [my daughter] set it up the way you suggested. Maybe everything will be okay now.

    Happy face: :-)

  129. 129.

    Corner Stone

    May 15, 2010 at 4:48 pm

    @burnspbesq: Cowards way out.
    You got nothing my man.

  130. 130.

    cat48

    May 15, 2010 at 4:48 pm

    @Linda Featheringill:

    Glad to help……..I’m still learning. My tech got married & left home a year ago so I read & experiment. :)

  131. 131.

    Corner Stone

    May 15, 2010 at 4:49 pm

    @cat48: It was a bad pun about your “I wonder where Dick is”
    I apologize for my beavis and buttheadism related humor.

  132. 132.

    cat48

    May 15, 2010 at 4:52 pm

    @Corner Stone:

    No problem…….just saw it as a matter of fact. Cooking and chatting online so I get distracted.

  133. 133.

    Corner Stone

    May 15, 2010 at 4:54 pm

    @cat48: Sounds like an invite! What’re we having?

  134. 134.

    Yutsano

    May 15, 2010 at 4:55 pm

    @burnspbesq: Just promise me you won’t pie me if I get the new job.

    On topic: THEY WANT BIG REPUBLICAN DADDY BACK IN POWER SO THEIR CORPORATE MASTERS CAN RULE THE UNIVERSE AGAIN. I thought we had been over this already folks. Sheesh.

  135. 135.

    Corner Stone

    May 15, 2010 at 4:56 pm

    @burnspbesq: Two things will never change.
    1. I do sooo enjoy pie
    2. You’re a coward who’s got nothing

  136. 136.

    norris hall

    May 15, 2010 at 5:03 pm

    “Milton Friedman says that there’s no need for product safety regulation, because corporations know that if they do harm they’ll be sued.”

    Of course he was referring only to a government regulated country like the United States. In most third world countries corporations can pretty much do whatever they want because there are no government rules and regulations forcing them to play fairly and there is no tort system that can be used by the common folks to redress grevious wrongs.

    Take China for example. You can set up a factory and start producing food products immediately without any inspections or health and safety rules. You can put cardboard additives into food products to make them stretch longer. You can even put harmful Melamines into crackers and baby food to make it appear that they have a higher protein content.
    Once in a while you get caught and they make a national example out of you. But most of the time, as long as no one get’s hurt, you can sell substandard products without any interference.

    When thousands of building collapsed during the last big earthquake it was the first time people began questioning the laxed building standards and poor enforcment.

    Milton Friendman should have lived in China instead of in highly regulated and tort happy America. He would have had a totally different view of free markets.

  137. 137.

    cat48

    May 15, 2010 at 5:06 pm

    @cat48:

    Nothing exciting…..prepping veggies & meat for homemade pizza later.

  138. 138.

    Allan

    May 15, 2010 at 5:10 pm

    Chip is just a nickname.

    His real first name is Buffalo.

  139. 139.

    Corner Stone

    May 15, 2010 at 5:13 pm

    @cat48: Nothing wrong with that. I’m either going to have Vietnamese takeout again, or make a simple ground beef-diced tomato-elbow macaroni noodle dish that has sustained me more times than I can count.

  140. 140.

    Brachiator

    May 15, 2010 at 5:21 pm

    @norris hall:

    Take China for example. You can set up a factory and start producing food products immediately without any inspections or health and safety rules. You can put cardboard additives into food products to make them stretch longer. You can even put harmful Melamines into crackers and baby food to make it appear that they have a higher protein content. Once in a while you get caught and they make a national example out of you.

    Of coure, being made a “national example” often involves execution.

    But most of the time, as long as no one get’s hurt, you can sell substandard products without any interference.

    But that’s just the problem because, inevitably, someone does get hurt because of shoddy standards. And because increasingly, China is becoming the the primary manufacturer of all the world’s goods, defective and dangerous products are shipped outside of China.

  141. 141.

    Tonal Crow

    May 15, 2010 at 5:22 pm

    @dmsilev:

    Didn’t you hear? Obama dug the well himself, using slave labor supplied by ACORN, under direct orders from Fat Al Gore, whose diabolical plan to discredit the worlds’ oil companies is proceeding nicely.

    No doubt. But aren’t you burying, like, the biggest lede in the history of journalism? “[D]iscredit the worlds’ oil companies?”

  142. 142.

    cat48

    May 15, 2010 at 5:25 pm

    @Corner Stone:

    The later sounds interesting. Not in the mood for rice tonight. We would feed you, but I’m sure you are not near SC. Usually if I run into someone from SC online or on the St. they are whining about the prez. You’re not angry enough.

  143. 143.

    Tonal Crow

    May 15, 2010 at 5:29 pm

    @norris hall: Word. Glibertarians should be deported to China, so they can enjoy its Randroid economic system. Those who repent should be allowed to obtain green cards on the condition that they write sequels to The Jungle.

  144. 144.

    someguy

    May 15, 2010 at 5:32 pm

    Yeah, well, criticize Chip Reid all you want, but I bet he hasn’t directed the assassination of any Americans today.

  145. 145.

    Tim I

    May 15, 2010 at 5:33 pm

    @Bernard:

    Thanks for reminding us that Chip Reid isn’t the only douchebag out there.

  146. 146.

    Tonal Crow

    May 15, 2010 at 5:33 pm

    @Brachiator: This is slightly OT, but using IE for anything but accessing MS’s Windows Update site is begging for infection.

  147. 147.

    Keith G

    May 15, 2010 at 5:33 pm

    @Bernard:

    if the oil companies had spent some money into repairing the wetlands they “helped” destroy after reaping billions for umpteen years, they might have earned some good will from those who don’t work in the oil field.

    Just a quick note, with all due respects, you seem to be nose deep in magical thinking. Corporations care most about the next quarter’s bottom line. If you want them to spend money on the wetlands (quite a worthy goal) you need a motivated Congress to pass appropriate legislation.

  148. 148.

    Cheryl from Maryland

    May 15, 2010 at 5:33 pm

    Chip Reid is upset that Obama and the Democratic leadership are unable to call up Aquaman to fix the leak. Also.

  149. 149.

    Tim I

    May 15, 2010 at 5:36 pm

    @someguy:

    Thanks again for reminding us that Chip Reid and Bernard aren’t the only douchebags out there.

  150. 150.

    Corner Stone

    May 15, 2010 at 5:38 pm

    @cat48: Oooo, well I am angry but I am not near SC. But thanks.
    I intend to get there shortly for vacation. Since the entire inner Gulf Coast is ruined. I have a baseball jersey from SC that is awesome (long story). Go Cocks!

    Actually, I’m in heaven aka TX.

  151. 151.

    Corner Stone

    May 15, 2010 at 5:39 pm

    @someguy: How can we be sure of that?

  152. 152.

    kdaug

    May 15, 2010 at 5:42 pm

    @Libby:

    I KNOW! Those lads with the wooden shoes are always poking lesbians in the most inauspicious manner.

    OK, it was stupid, but it’s Saturday and I felt like it, so there.

  153. 153.

    burnspbesq

    May 15, 2010 at 5:47 pm

    @Yutsano:

    You can infer from who I pied what the qualifications are. I don’t think you have anything to worry about.

  154. 154.

    JD Rhoades

    May 15, 2010 at 5:52 pm

    @Bill E Pilgrim:

    Wait, I thought Nashville was Obama’s Katrina.

  155. 155.

    Corner Stone

    May 15, 2010 at 5:53 pm

    @burnspbesq: What we can infer is you are a coward who has nothing.

    And the beauty of it all is that you’ll just see cherry pie.

  156. 156.

    Yutsano

    May 15, 2010 at 5:54 pm

    @burnspbesq: I’m of course getting way ahead of myself (they’re not even taking applications for it yet) but it sounds interesting and my only danger in not getting it is that I could command the upper part of the pay scale just on education and experience alone. I have some pretty high hopes though cause it’s right up my alley and I would LOVE to get a fed job. Bring on the bennies baby!

  157. 157.

    Maude

    May 15, 2010 at 5:54 pm

    @Linda Featheringill:
    If that doesn’t work, try K-Meleon browser. It’s a Mozilla browser and is okay for secure websites like online banking.
    I use it and I have no problem with it. Git yer IT on it. I like it.
    You know what’s frustrating with Windoz? When I have a problem and am looking for solutions, Uncle Bill says, contact your system administrator. I am the system administrator.

  158. 158.

    someguy

    May 15, 2010 at 5:55 pm

    @Tim I:

    You’re welcome Tim I.

    BTW, good use of the word “douchebag.” There’s a lot of letters and two syllables is a bit of a stretch for you, but I always knew you could do it.

  159. 159.

    AhabTRuler

    May 15, 2010 at 6:11 pm

    the oil companies had spent some money into repairing the wetlands they “helped” destroy after reaping billions for umpteen years

    That’s a narrow view of the problem. State & Federal Agencies could (& probably should) recoup some revenues from oil companies to address wetland erosion, but that is hardly the only source of the problem. Fertilizers from industrial farming, ship channels to allow freighters access port cities, and, especially, the very levees that allow many of the communities along the Mississippi to continue exist all contribute to the destruction of wetlands along the gulf shore.

  160. 160.

    Corner Stone

    May 15, 2010 at 6:15 pm

    @cat48:

    The later sounds interesting. Not in the mood for rice tonight. We would feed you, but I’m sure you are not near SC.

    Actually, now I’m thinking fried chicken may be in the arena.
    Chicken, mashed taters, grabey, biscuits and possibly some corn on the cob.

  161. 161.

    Brachiator

    May 15, 2010 at 6:30 pm

    @Tonal Crow:

    This is slightly OT, but using IE for anything but accessing MS’s Windows Update site is begging for infection.

    Thanks for the tip. I also use Firefox, and probably should use it more regularly than IE.

    Glibertarians should be deported to China, so they can enjoy its Randroid economic system. Those who repent should be allowed to obtain green cards on the condition that they write sequels to The Jungle.

    China is a problem for all manner of ideologues. Libertarians have to explain how a totalitarian society has become their model of Randroid success. Progressives have to explain how could it be that a communist workers’ paradise could crap all over the environment and human rights. Conservatives need to revise that mystical date in the future when China, having been “opened up” by the West (thanks, Nixon), will become an enlightened democracy.

  162. 162.

    Ed Drone

    May 15, 2010 at 7:54 pm

    @Bill H:

    My point is, “Now is not the time for placing blame. Now is the time for stepping up and taking responsibility for correcting the problem.”

    That is what he said immediately before going to another platform to say, “The Republicans ran the car into the ditch.”

    Well, I could point out that the R’s (or should that be “Arses”?) are claiming that they deserve to “help” direct the recovery from their own actions, while proposing more of the same misguided actions that got us into the current [pick one of many] cats-ass-trophy, and “they don’t get the keys or their hands on the wheel” is less a blame-game witticism and more a reason why we can’t trust them to actually help.

    So this is not placing blame, but calling for sound solutions while disqualifying the clowns whose car we were riding in for eight sad years. When the opposing party comes up with real solutions and stops claiming that more of the same is good policy, Obama can stop pointing out that those same solutions got us into this mess.

    It’s not blame, it’s shame. If it sounds like blame, ’tis the guilty heart that feels its sting.

    Ed

  163. 163.

    Ed Drone

    May 15, 2010 at 8:00 pm

    @Libby:

    Do people think he can just stop it by sticking his finger in the hole, like that Dutch kid with the dike?

    You need something bigger to block that hole, like a Dick. So the question is, Cheney or Limbaugh? Which is the bigger Dick? (Not HAS, but IS)

    Ed

  164. 164.

    Libby

    May 15, 2010 at 8:14 pm

    Ed Drone, both of them works for me. Strikes me as the perfect junk shot.

  165. 165.

    burnspbesq

    May 15, 2010 at 8:45 pm

    @Yutsano:

    Go for it. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the Office of Chief Counsel of the IRS. I’d go back if I could afford to support a family on a GS-14 salary.

  166. 166.

    Steeplejack

    May 16, 2010 at 12:30 am

    @Bill H:

    [. . .] it doesn’t sit well to have him on the very same day blatting about how the Republicans “ran the car into the ditch,” when Democrats have been in control of Congress for more than three full years.

    I don’t see how a scant majority hobbled by procedural blocks at every turn constitutes real “control” of Congress.

  167. 167.

    slippy

    May 16, 2010 at 12:57 am

    @Bernard: You are so full of shit. Make up your mind.

  168. 168.

    Yutsano

    May 16, 2010 at 1:11 am

    @burnspbesq: I’d have to be an idiot to pass it up honestly. The money is awesome, not to mention fed jobs are pretty much awesome benefit-wise. It would involve a move but I’d be totally fine with that. Plus I’d have to suss out the advancement opportunities as they come up. I know the government will assist in investing in employee education. But that will have to wait for a couple of weeks yet. You can’t even apply for it yet, it’s not even listed on the website.

    @slippy: A troll full of shit. Dog bites man. The sun rises in the east. I’d say all is right in the universe there.

  169. 169.

    Polar Bear Squares

    May 16, 2010 at 9:24 am

    Heavy, heavy sigh.

    We can’t blame Bush for anything.

    But we must blame Obama for everything.

    Heavy, heavy, heavy sigh.

  170. 170.

    The Truffle

    May 16, 2010 at 11:08 pm

    I’m suspicious of grown men named Chip.

  171. 171.

    Bruckenwolf

    May 16, 2010 at 11:55 pm

    @MikeJ:

    I like that vivisection piece. Wonderful statement.

  172. 172.

    Bruckenwolf

    May 17, 2010 at 12:04 am

    Nothing surprises me now that our Supreme Court has made its fetish for crush videos and watching dog fights legal. Southern payback. Obama Administration needs to pull itself out of the pot being the hard potato they are to boil. Is this a universal intervention…oil spills. That is what happens when it becomes open season for hunting wolves and wild horses. Obama is no better then Palin. They both need to go fix the oil leak. What happen to alternative energy that was promised during the election?

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