(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.

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

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?

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

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.

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.

>Click here for the slideshow.

Last week, Congresswoman Giffords met with General Patraeus on Capitol Hill. This meeting took place after we have lost over thirty American soldiers in Afghanistan this month. The burning question on Ms. Giffords’ mind was: what are we doing to “green” our bases?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ww0ojjhtGc&feature=player_embedded

Obama Says Oil Spill Is Like 9-11… But Sends Only 20 of 2,000 US Oil Skimmer Boats to Florida Coast
by Jim Hoft
Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse…

Last week Barack Obama told Politico that the BP oil spill was like 9-11–
But, it’s been over 60 days since the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion and he’s only sent 20 of 2,000 US oil skimmer boats to the coast of Florida.

Senator George LeMieux of Florida told the Shark Tank that there are only 20 skimmer boats off the coast of Florida out of 2,000 available skimmer boats in the United States. Lemieux says that Obama is afraid to move them to Florida because there won’t be any in place in case there is an oil leak somewhere else.


more have been requested and those requests have been ignored.

Tuesday: He has to go, no matter what.How his dismissel is carried out should be interesting

Jim Dandy: True and no matter one's politics, it's not a good thing to undermine the character of an acting President. When talking to journalists, nothing is ever off the record.

Creepy Old Man:

MSNBC first response

http://crooksandliars.com/media/play/wmv/17279/

Creepy Old Man: It will be interesting to watch how this plays out.It boggles the mind to think Gen. McChrystal would not be aware of the stir his comments would cause,it sounds like schoolyard gossip.The thing is, it doesn't just damage Obama, it damages the office of President

Jim Dandy: Lol. But what's on MSNs floor?

Creepy Old Man: They have hired extra cleaning staff to help mop the saliva seeping from the offices of Fox News

June 22, 2010
Gen. McChrystal criticized Obama war management in magazine interview
Thomas Lifson
General Stanley McChrystal's career is hanging by a thread in the wake of revelations contained in a forthcoming article in Rolling Stone, quoting the General criticizing President Obama and some of his team members. Gordon Lubold of Politico writes:

The article, titled "The Runaway General," appears in the magazine later this week. It contains a number of jabs by McChrystal and his staff aimed not only at the President but at Vice President Biden, special envoy Richard Holbrooke, Karl Eikenberry, the ambassador to Afghanistan, and others.

McChrystal described his first meeting with Obama as disappointing and said that Obama was unprepared for the meeting.

National Security Advisor Jim Jones is described by a McChrystal aide as a "clown" stuck in 1985.

Others aides joked about Biden's last name as sounding like "Bite me" since Biden opposed the surge.
McChrystal has already apologized publicly:

"It was a mistake reflecting poor judgment and should never have happened," McChrystal said. "Throughout my career, I have lived by the principles of personal honor and professional integrity. What is reflected in this article falls far short of that standard. I have enormous respect and admiration for President Obama and his national security team, and for the civilian leaders and troops fighting this war and I remain committed to ensuring its successful outcome."
The White House flacks at MSNBC's "Morning Joe," where they yesterday confessed to "working with the White House" on talking points, focused on the outrage of criticizing the commander-in-chief, not on the substance of the remarks:

"This general has to be fired, he has to be gone by the end of the day," said Joe Scarborough, on "Morning Joe" on MSNBC.

"Gates and Petraeus have to come out and fire McChrystal." They should have already done it - Petreaus and Gates should have already fired McChrystal."

But firing McChrystal could be a problem for Obama. First is the question of a replacement. Is there anyone as qualified as this widely-respected expert on counter-terror? The war is going badly, and a sudden change in command could make matters worse.

Then there is the awkward question of the substance of the General's remarks, especially about a commander-in-chief who doesn't do his homework. Afghanistan is Obama's war, the one he said we must win. His management of the war may be consistent with his inept, lazy management of the Gulf oil spill. The American people will not be reassured by the appointment of a replacement for McChrystal whose principal qualification is keeping his mouth shut about the incompetence he sees around him in the conduct of war.

I suspect the General assumed some of his remarks, and conversations with others, were off-the-record. The "Morning Joe" crew acknowledged that other senior military figures privately criticize Obama. McChrystal's error appaerently was in trusting a free lance journalist working with Rolling Stone, or perhaps in not clarifying what was off the record.

The article isn't yet publicly available. All we know about it comes from other media sources who have seen advance copies.

Gen. McChrystal is on his way to the White House from the Afghanistan theatre. There will be more news soon.

Jim Dandy: Not if you go by the likes of Comic relief and other such charitable organisations.

Am I missing something?
BP is supposed to pay all costs, so theoretically anything CNN donates will be deducted from BP's tab

Thirteen countries offered Obama help. He couldn't get his act together to accept. And things just keep getting worse.

Obama is making a huge mistake taking Arizona to court. We clearly have a problem with illegals in this country. Most Americans support the law. Obama once again goes against public opinion. Now 51% don't want him reelected. Does he NOT understand politics? He's not doing the Dems any favors.

As I understand it, the Arizona law simply mirrors an already existing Federal law. So it will be on to the Supreme Court for this one. I predict Arizona wins. Obama loses either way.

Jim Dandy:

Artful Dodger: Don't get me started on Palin

Jim Dandy: That's very true. As for the subject line above, I totally agree. If an election were held today Obama would still win, that's clear from polls. He'll be hard to beat in the next election but the Dems won't be in power most likely.

I think both the Dems and the Repubs have totally lost their way. Repubs especially. Many have turned on the party values one held firm.

McCain would have been a worse choice than Obama. Palin alone would have been better perhaps.

We need term limits and a Constitutional amendment for balanced budgets. And congress has to be on the public health care and retirement plans.

Panorama tonight on the oil leak.. including talk from an employee on how BP knew that there were problems with the safety equipment before the leak started.

... yet they carried on rather then shut down and fix the problem.

Artful Dodger: If Obama had quit politics election night, he would have rivaled RFK in the "what if" catagory.With some people, less is more.He is in a bad position, he will never be able to excite the public like he did during the campaign, he peaked far too early.His only hope is another lousy crop of Republican opponents, and that's a very real scenario

GKChesterton: He's a huge disappointment to his base. Not a good place to be for sure. His experience is clearly lacking and he will go down in history as a failed experiment. The sooner the better in my view.

GKChesterton: Well I guess the American people thought he was a better choice then McCain and Palin.

Watching this stuff on Tv is like washing your laundry in the tiolet

Anyone who can't see that Obama is an empty suit must have blinders on. He came from nowhere without any real experience and he will most likely go back again

June 18, 2010
The liberal blinders lift on Obama
Tony Gallardo

"......Chris Matthews, Keith Olbermann, Howard Fineman, James Carville, and Maureen Dowd simply cannot believe the incompetence of the man they once deified....."

From what I gather from checking out vids of Keith Olbermann, Tony Gallardo is lying.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3ShbO1bJ5o

Jim Dandy:

Artful Dodger: I think Hannity forced him into lower wrung hysteria

Jim Dandy: and he's calmed down a bit. I haven't heard him say "shutup" in a long time.

Artful Dodger: He has learned to pick his battles more wisely.

Jim Dandy: See? Bill is fair and balanced.

Artful Dodger: I watched her discuss it with O'Rielly, I have to side with Bill.

Jim Dandy: Well I agree that they need to take care not to give that perception. Barton should have chosen his words more carefully. Two Republicans have called for him to step down from his committee.

I don't see anything wrong with Bachman's comments. She wasn't supporting BP at all. Her comments were directed at the Constitutional powers of the President. Nothing wrong with that.

I read Barton and those who support him have been disowned by the GOP.

...."only spoke for himself -- that is not mainstream Republican thought."

Artful Dodger: The public perception is that republicans are defending BP, this plays into the public perception that republicans defend the rich, not a wise stand to take in my opinion,especially in regards to the suffering New Orleans has endured.

Artful Dodger: ... you never answered what equipment does the USA keep to deal with oil leaks.

btw... I'm neither left or right I'm me!!

(V): Accepting needed help when offered is not like walking on water. Approving the requests of the governor of Louisiana in a timely manner is not like walking on water. Acting immediately in a crisis and showing leadership is not like walking on water. What is expected of Obama is to protect the US and use the power of his office to do all he can to contain this spill. He had the resources and he squandered every opportunity. He failed completely.

Which is why even the LEFT is highly critical of his leadership.