How to Attack the Oil Mess? Here is your list Mr. President

From the Heritage Foundation, this common sense "to do" list: The To Do List!

1. Waive the Jones Act: According to one Dutch newspaper, European firms could complete the oil spill cleanup by themselves in just four months, and three months if they work with the United States, which is much faster than the estimated nine months it would take the Obama administration to go at it alone. The major stumbling block is a protectionist piece of legislation called the Jones Act, which requires that all goods transported by water between U.S. ports be carried in U.S.-flagged ships, constructed in the United States, owned by U.S. citizens, and crewed by U.S. citizens. But, in an emergency, this law can be temporarily waived, as DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff did after Katrina. Each day European and Asian allies are prevented from helping us speed up the cleanup is another day that Gulf fishing and tourism jobs die. For more information on this, click here.

2. Accept International Assistance: At least thirty countries and international organizations have offered equipment and experts so far. According to reports this week, the White House has finally decided to accept help from twelve of these nations. The Obama administration should make clear why they are refusing the other eighteen-plus offers. In a statement, the State Department said it is still working out the particulars of the assistance it has accepted. This should be done swiftly as months have already been wasted.

Take Sweden, for example. According to Heritage expert James Carafano: “After offering assistance shortly after the Deepwater Horizon explosion, Sweden received a request for information about their specialized assets from the State Department on May 7. Swedish officials answered the inquiry the same day, saying that some assets, such as booms, could be sent within days and that it would take a couple of weeks to send ships. There are three brand new Swedish Coast Guard vessels built for dealing with a major oil spill cleanup. Each has a capacity to collect nearly 50 tons of oil per hour from the surface of the sea and can hold 1,000 tons of spilled oil in their tanks. But according to the State Department’s recently released chart on international offers of assistance, the Swedish equipment and ships are still ‘under consideration.’ So months later, the booms sit unused and brand new Swedish ships still sit idle in port, thousands of miles from the Gulf. The delay in accepting offers of assistance is unacceptable.” For more information, click here or here.

3. Lift the Moratorium: The Obama administration’s over-expansive ban on offshore energy development is killing jobs when they are needed most. A panel of engineering experts told The New Orleans Times-Picayune that they only supported a six-month ban on new drilling in waters deeper than 1,000 feet. Those same experts were consulted by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar before he issued his May 27 report recommending a six-month moratorium on all ongoing drilling in waters deeper than 500 feet. A letter from these experts reads: “A blanket moratorium is not the answer. It will not measurably reduce risk further and it will have a lasting impact on the nation’s economy which may be greater than that of the oil spill. We do not believe punishing the innocent is the right thing to do.”

And just how many innocent jobs is Obama’s oil ban killing? An earlier Times-Picayune report estimated the moratorium could cost Louisiana 7,590 jobs and $2.97 billion in revenue directly related to the oil industry. For more information on this, click here.

4. Release the S.S. A-Whale: The S.S. A-Whale skimmer is a converted oil tanker capable of cleaning 500,000 barrels of oil a day from the Gulf waters. Currently, the largest skimmer being used in the clean-up efforts can handle 4,000 barrels a day, and the entire fleet our government has authorized for BP has only gathered 600,000 barrels, total in the 70 days since the Deepwater Horizon explosion. The ship embarked from Norfolk, VA, this week toward the Gulf, hoping to get federal approval to begin assisting the clean-up, but is facing bureaucratic resistance.

As a foreign-flagged ship, the S.S. A-Whale needs a waiver from the Jones Act, but even outside that three-mile limitation, the U.S. Coast Guard and the EPA have to approve its operation due to the nature of its operation, which separates the oil from the water and then releases water back into the Gulf, with a minor amount of oil residue. The government should not place perfection over the need for speed, especially facing the threat of an active hurricane season. For more information on this, click here.

5. Remove State and Local Roadblocks: Local governments are not getting the assistance they need to help in the cleanup. For example, nearly two months ago, officials from Escambia County, Fla., requested permission from the Mobile Unified Command Center to use a sand skimmer, a device pulled behind a tractor that removes oil and tar from the top three feet of sand, to help clean up Pensacola’s beaches. County officials still haven’t heard anything back. Santa Rosa Island Authority Buck Lee explains why: “Escambia County sends a request to the Mobile, Ala., Unified Command Center. Then, it’s reviewed by BP, the federal government, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Coast Guard. If they don’t like it, they don’t tell us anything.”

State and local governments know their geography, people, economic impacts and needs far better than the federal government does. Contrary to popular belief, the federal government has actually been playing a bigger and bigger role in running natural disaster responses. And as Heritage fellow Matt Mayer has documented, the results have gotten worse, not better. Local governments should be given the tools they need to aid in the disaster relief. For more information on this, click here.

6. Allow Sand Berm Dredging: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has recently prevented the state of Louisiana from dredging to build protective sand berms. Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser immediately sent a letter to President Obama requesting that the work continue. He said, “Once again, our government resource agencies, which are intended to protect us, are now leaving us vulnerable to the destruction of our coastline and marshes by the impending oil. Furthermore, with the threat of hurricanes or tropical storms, we are being put at an increased risk for devastation to our area from the intrusion of oil.” For more information on this, click here.

7. Waive or Suspend EPA Regulations: Because more water than oil is collected in skimming operations (85% to 90% is water according to Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen), operators need to discharge the filtered water back into the Gulf so they can continue to collect oil. The discharged water is vastly cleaner than when it was skimmed, but not sufficiently pure according to normal EPA regulations. If the water has to be kept in the vessel and taken back to shore for purification, it vastly multiples the resources and time needed, requiring cleanup ships to make extra round trips, transporting seven times as much water as the oil they collect. We already have insufficient cleanup ships (as the Coast Guard officially determined); they need to be cleaning up oil, not transporting water. For more information, click here.

8. Temporarily Loosen Coast Guard Inspections: In early June, sixteen barges that were vacuuming oil out of the Gulf were ordered to halt work. The Coast Guard had the clean-up vessels sit idle as they were inspected for fire extinguishers and life vests. Maritime safety is clearly a priority, but speed is of the essence in the Gulf waters. The U.S. Coast Guard should either temporarily loosen its inspection procedures or implement a process that allows inspections to occur as the ships operate. For more information, click here.

9. Stop Coast Guard Budget Cuts: Now is not the time to be cutting Coast Guard capabilities, but that is exactly what President Obama and Democratic leaders in Congress are doing. Rather than rebuilding and modernizing the Coast Guard as is necessary, they are cutting back assets needed to respond to catastrophic disasters. In particular, the National Strike Force, specifically organized to respond to oil spills and other hazardous materials disasters, is being cut. Overall, President Obama has told the Coast Guard to shed nearly 1,000 personnel, five cutters, and several helicopters and aircraft. Congress and the Administration should double the U.S. Coast Guard’s active and reserve end strength over the next decade and significantly accelerate Coast Guard modernization, but for the time being, they should halt all budgetary cuts. For more information, click here.

10. Halt Climate Change Legislation: President Obama has placed his focus to the oil spill on oil demand rather than oil in our water. Regardless of political views, now is not the time to be taking advantage of this crisis to further an unrelated piece of legislation that will kill jobs and, in the President’s own words, cause energy prices to “skyrocket.” Less than 5% of our nation’s electricity needs are met by petroleum. Pushing solar and wind alternatives is in no way related to the disaster in the Gulf. It’s time for President Obama to focus on the direct actions he can take in the Gulf rather than the indirect harm he can cause in Congress. As Heritage expert David Kreutzer opines: “Fix the leak first, and then we’ll talk.” A crisis should not be a terrible thing to waste, as Rahm Emanuel said, but a problem to be solved. For more information, click

Any questions?

Biden compares GOP to Nazis: my, how precious!

No, that is not Veep Biden, I was too lazy to go find one of him. But he has sent out an urgent funding letter to the Obama faithful pleading with them to open their wallets to blunt GOP "Blitzkrieg" tactics, read it all here.

Okay, it's politics and just like love, all is fair. But as Christian's know; just because you can do a thing does not mean that you should do a thing.

If you don't understand that, I suggest reading the New Testament of the Bible.

Tell me it's not true! Oil spill visits get partisan

As reported here in the Politico, Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) wanted to fly 10 lawmakers down to the Gulf of Mexico to see the damage caused by BP’s gigantic oil spill first hand.

House Democrats said no.

Scalise’s trip was rejected for a variety of bureaucratic and logistical reasons, but it has also opened a new vein of partisan squabbling over who should be allowed to arrange a trip to view the impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Scalise is from Louisiana; so he can't take other congressmen to see what is happening in HIS state?

About two weeks ago, Scalise requested to be able to use his Members Representational Allowance – a fund typically reserved for office expenses and travel back to the district – to go to the Gulf with a group of about 10 other lawmakers.


He sought permission from the House Administration committee, which regulates office account spending and would have to approve the trip. After a few weeks, Scalise was ping-ponged between several committees. Eventually, John Lawrence, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) chief of staff, told Scalise’s chief that “it was unlikely that the request would be granted” by the House Administration Committee.

And there you go: raw knuckle politics right in the middle of a disastor. Not only can government not fix it, government doesn't even want to.

Kagen promises to uphold the law

The most unqualified candidate ever for the Supreme Court had this to say here on her first day of confirmation testimony: Speaking on the first day of her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Kagan said the court must ensure that "our government never oversteps its proper bounds or violates the rights of individuals."

"But the court must also recognize the limits on itself and respect the choices made by the American people," she said, adding that her past work in government public service has shown her that, in her words, "no one has a monopoly on truth and wisdom."

"I will make no pledges this week other than this one -- that if confirmed, I will remember and abide by all these lessons," she said. "I will listen hard, to every party before the court and to each of my colleagues."

Didn't hear a word about upholding the Constitution. Please take note.

Angry Content: be forewarned

Today the FDA informed us US citizens of this monumental development in the history of civilization: airline food fails to meet health standards: read it all here.

My reaction to this? Who gives a rat's rear end? The article goes into the details of how, Violations include roaches, mice, unsanitary conditions and no place for employees to wash their hands.

When was the last time you were on an airline flight that you got anything other than a diet coke and peanuts in a little (.5 oz) package? That's vending machine food.

This is YOUR government, working overtime to insert itself into YOUR life. Enjoy all you Obama disciples.

So, what is sacred? Can the State invade a church? Can the State detain the clergy of a church? Can freedom of religion be suppressed on the grounds of a search warrant? Can the State open a grave looking for "evidence"?

These are questions we had better start thinking about, read more here.

In a split 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court upheld the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution that local governments cannot take that right away. Read it all here.

Writing for the court in a case involving restrictive laws in Chicago and one of its suburbs, Justice Samuel Alito said that the Second Amendment right "applies equally to the federal government and the states."

Two years ago, the court declared that the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to possess guns, at least for purposes of self-defense in the home.

That ruling applied only to federal laws. It struck down a ban on handguns and a trigger lock requirement for other guns in the District of Columbia, a federal city with a unique legal standing. At the same time, the court was careful not to cast doubt on other regulations of firearms here.

Gun rights proponents almost immediately filed a federal lawsuit challenging gun control laws in Chicago and its suburb of Oak Park, Ill, where handguns have been banned for nearly 30 years. The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence says those laws appear to be the last two remaining outright bans.

Lower federal courts upheld the two laws, noting that judges on those benches were bound by Supreme Court precedent and that it would be up to the high court justices to ultimately rule on the true reach of the Second Amendment.

The Supreme Court already has said that most of the guarantees in the Bill of Rights serve as a check on state and local, as well as federal, laws.

Monday's decision did not explicitly strike down the Chicago area laws, ordering a federal appeals court to reconsider its ruling. But it left little doubt that they would eventually fall.

Is it: Can't secure the border? Or, Won't secure the border?

Here is another salvo in the war between the state of Arizona and the Whitehouse. Polls suggest the Whitehouse is miserably losing this war.

Watch it here.

A Deadly Force: not incompetent

Much has been written by the right about how unprepared, how incompetent, how dumb President Obama must be to be doing the things he is doing.

We write this because we view him through the lens of being American. Obama is not American, he is socialist. That is his cause and when you look through HIS lens here is what you see:

A must read. May be unstoppable. Sad.

Wayne Allyn Root was a classmate of Obama's at Columbia ~ both graduated in '83.
Root is a Libertarian and strong contender for the Libertarian nominee for the 2010 election.
Here is the link to his Bio:
http://www.rootforamerica.com/home/bio.php

Here is the link to the article below:
http://www.lvrj.com/opinion/obama-s-agenda--overwhelm-the-system-95716764.html

*WAYNE ALLYN ROOT: Overwhelm the system*
Barack Obama is no fool. He is not incompetent. To the contrary, he
is brilliant. He knows exactly what he's doing. He is purposely
overwhelming the U.S. economy to create
systemic failure, economic crisis and social chaos -- thereby
destroying capitalism and our country from within.
Barack Obama is my college classmate ( Columbia University , class of
'83). Obama is following the plan of Cloward & Piven, two professors at Columbia University . They
outlined a plan to socialize America by overwhelming the system with
government spending and entitlement demands. Add up the clues below.
Taken individually they're alarming. Taken as a whole, it is a
brilliant, Machiavellian game plan to turn the United States into a
socialist/Marxist state with a permanent majority that desperately needs
government for survival ... and can be counted on to always vote for
bigger government. Why not? They have no responsibility to pay for it.

-- Universal health care. The health care bill had very little to do
with health care. It had everything to do with unionizing millions of
hospital and health care workers, as well as adding 15,000 to 20,000 new
IRS agents (who will join government employee unions). Obama doesn't
care that giving free health care to 30 million Americans will add
trillions to the national debt. What he does care about is that it
cements the dependence of those 30 million voters to Democrats and big
government. Who but a socialist revolutionary would pass this reckless
spending bill in the middle of a depression?

-- Cap and trade. Like health care legislation having nothing to do with
health care, cap and trade has nothing to do with global warming. It has
everything to do with redistribution of income, government control of
the economy and a criminal payoff to Obama's biggest contributors. Those
powerful and wealthy unions and contributors (like GE, which owns NBC,
MSNBC and CNBC) can then be counted on to support everything Obama
wants. They will kick-back hundreds of millions of dollars in
contributions to Obama and the Democratic Party to keep them in power.
The bonus is that all the new taxes on Americans with bigger cars,
bigger homes and businesses helps Obama "spread the wealth around."

-- Make Puerto Rico a state. Why? Who's asking for a 51st state? Who's
asking for millions of new welfare recipients and government entitlement
addicts in the middle of a depression? Certainly not American taxpayers.
But this has been Obama's plan all along. His goal is to add two new
Democrat senators, five Democrat congressman and a million loyal
Democratic voters who are dependent on big government.
-- Legalize 12 million illegal immigrants. Just giving these 12 million
potential new citizens free health care alone could overwhelm the system
and bankrupt America . But it adds 12 million reliable new Democrat
voters who can be counted on to support big government. Add another few
trillion dollars in welfare, aid to dependent children, food stamps,
free medical, education, tax credits for the poor, and eventually Social
Security.

-- Stimulus and bailouts. Where did all that money go? It went to
Democrat contributors, organizations (ACORN), and unions -- including
billions of dollars to save or create jobs of government employees
across the country. It went to save GM and Chrysler so that their
employees could keep paying union dues. It went to AIG so that Goldman
Sachs could be bailed out (after giving Obama almost $1 million in
contributions). A staggering $125 billion went to teachers (thereby
protecting their union dues). All those public employees will vote
loyally Democrat to protect their bloated salaries and pensions that are
bankrupting America . The country goes broke, future g ene rations face a
bleak future, but Obama, the Democrat Party, government, and the unions
grow more powerful. The ends justify the means.

-- Raise taxes on small business owners, high-income earners, and job
creators. Put the entire burden on only the top 20 percent of taxpayers,
redistribute the income, punish success, and reward those who did
nothing to deserve it (except vote for Obama). Reagan wanted to
dramatically cut taxes in order to starve the government. Obama wants to
dramatically raise taxes to starve his political opposition.

With the acts outlined above, Obama and his regime have created a vast
and rapidly expanding constituency of voters dependent on big
government; a vast privileged class of public employees who work for big
government; and a government dedicated to destroying capitalism and
installing themselves as socialist rulers by overwhelming the system.

Add it up and you've got the perfect Marxist scheme -- all devised by my
Columbia University college classmate Barack Obama using the Cloward and Piven Plan.

Glenn Beck has been preaching on this for 3 years. Do we have the guts to stop this in November?

If not, here is our future.

Hat Tip: Wilma R

Economic growth anemic at best..........

Economic growth in the first quarter was finally revised to a tepid 2.7% reports the AP.

The real disappoint comes here, "Economists anticipate even slower growth ahead as companies bring their stockpiles more in line with sales. Factory output has climbed this year. But it was driven more by businesses replenishing their warehouses after the recession and less by consumer demand.

"The economy is growing, but still at a disappointingly slow pace," said Zach Pandl, an economist at Nomura Securities. Take away businesses restocking their inventories and "you still have a lukewarm recovery," he said."

Now add this to a previous story about massive tax increases coming out way next year and it is hard to believe that we will not see a crushing double-dip recession.

Strap in and get prepared

Playing Chicken with American Blood in Afganistan

This man is now in charge in Afganistan. But Afganistan is not going so well as reported here. The Afganie government is too corrupt to be a responsible partner and the Afganie people are afraid to help the US soldiers because they hear official Washington tell them that as of July 2011 we are gone. So, given that the Taliban will remain and that the Taliban brutally kill collaborators, why should they help? Would you?

But what is the currency in this miserable game of chicken where Obama won't reassure the Afganies for fear of setting his base on fire? That currency is American blood. While Obama and the Afgan government try to see who can piss on the other the most, American soldiers are dying and shedding their blood on a part of the world we don't care a lick about.

Yet again, another worthless war fought with our most precious treasure, American blood.

US Labor Dept helping illegals: are you surprised?

From Fox News here, Republican lawmakers are expressing shock over a Labor Department ad campaign that offers government assistance to illegal immigrants who think they're getting shortchanged for their work -- and at least one of them is planning to write to Labor Secretary Hilda Solis for an explanation.

But the Labor Department stood by the campaign, saying in a written statement to FoxNews.com that "through Democratic and Republican administrations, the Department of Labor has consistently held that the country's minimum wage and overtime law protects workers regardless of their immigration status."

And through Democratic and Republican administrations, this issue has been ducked and the American people have been lied to. And no administration has taken a hard stance toward sealing our borders.

And who will run Medicare? Time to Worry.......

Controversy is mounting over Dr. Donald Berwick, President Obama's nominee to run Medicare and Medicaid -- and for good reason. Berwick's writings reveal that he would make radical changes -- seniors beware. You can read it all here.

Berwick laid out his "Triple Aim" plan in an article he co-authored in Health Affairs (May-June 2008), advocating widespread government use of the "medical home" model. The Congressional Budget Office says that's a version of HMO-style medicine, with a primary-care provider to oversee your access to costly services such as visits to specialists and diagnostic tests. But in Berwick's plan, many -- perhaps most -- primary-care providers would not be physicians.

In his Triple Aim plan, Berwick laments that US health care is "designed to focus on the acute needs of individual patients." He argues for a different focus, social justice.

I hope you read that last part very very closely! Your specific medical needs will not be the primary concern of the medical professional who sees you. Your needs will be weighed against the greater needs of society.

How does that make you feel?

The Scary Things that Polls Uncover......

The nation appears to be stuck at +10% unemployment. A key mortgage anti-foreclosure program seems to be worthless, deficit spending is out of control. Ordinary people speak of economic collapse and some of revolution. So what does a poll tell us about this President, his administration, and the Federal government in general? See it all here.

1. Sixty-two percent of adults in the survey feel the country is on the wrong track, the highest level since before the 2008 election.

2. Just one-third think the economy will get better over the next year, a 7-point drop from a month ago and the low point of Mr. Obama's tenure.

3. For the first time, more people disapprove of Mr. Obama's job performance than approve. And 57% of voters would prefer to elect a new person to Congress than re-elect their local representatives, the highest share in 18 years.


4. Support for Mr. Obama and his party is declining among centrist, independent voters. But, more ominous for the president, some in his base also are souring, with 17% of Democrats disapproving of Mr. Obama's job performance, the highest level of his presidency.

5. Approval for Mr. Obama has dropped among Hispanics, too, along with small-town residents, white women and seniors.

6. African-Americans remain the firmest part of Mr. Obama's base, with 91% approving of his job performance.

So what to make of these poll results? Essentially, all African-Americans are wildely supportive of this president. For the rest of the population less than half show approval?

What has Obama done that so appeals to African-Americans? The great supply of jobs? The plentiful wages they receive? The strengthening of America around the world? Obama's decisive leadership in the midst of chaos? The fact that his skin is black?

I don't know the answer, but the statistics of this one poll surely beg some interesting questions.

Judge throws cold water on oil drill ban.......

Not surprisingly, the oil development industry has rushed to find a judge who will exert a little logic and block the Obama moratorium on all new offshore drilling. As reported here, [a] New Orleans federal judge lifted the six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling imposed by President Barack Obama following the largest oil spill in U.S. history. Drilling services shares jumped on the news.

The ban was a stupid political move but aimed to appease his liber enviro-wacko base. But most of all, it made no sense and was going to inflict very real economic harm on the region and on the country's strategic ability to supply itself with oil.

Interior Secretary Kenneth Salazar said in a statement that he will issue a new order on deepwater offshore oil drilling.

“We see clear evidence every day, as oil spills from BP’s well, of the need for a pause on deepwater drilling,” Salazar said. “Based on this ever-growing evidence, I will issue a new order in the coming days that eliminates any doubt that a moratorium is needed, appropriate, and within our authorities.”

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters that “continuing to drill at these depths without knowing what happened does not make any sense.”

Actually Robert, shutting down a whole industry vital to American strategic interests makes no sense if you don't really know what happened!

Thomas Sowell: Is Tryanny around the corner?

Franco was the tyrannical ruler of Spain many years ago. Is Barack Obama the first Tyrannical ruler of America?

Read this stunning analysis from Thomas Sowell.

When Adolf Hitler was building up the Nazi movement in the 1920s, leading up to his taking power in the 1930s, he deliberately sought to activate people who did not normally pay much attention to politics.

In our times, American democracy is being dismantled, piece by piece, before our very eyes by the current administration in Washington, and few people seem to be concerned about it.

The president's poll numbers are going down because increasing numbers of people disagree with particular policies of his, but the damage being done to the fundamental structure of this nation goes far beyond particular counterproductive policies.

Just where in the Constitution of the United States does it say that a president has the authority to extract vast sums of money from a private enterprise and distribute it as he sees fit to whomever he deems worthy of compensation? Nowhere.

[w]ithout constitutional government, freedom cannot endure. There will always be a "crisis" — which, as the president's chief of staff has said, cannot be allowed to "go to waste" as an opportunity to expand the government's power.

And there we are: are we going to be Constitutional or not?

The Single Biggest Threat to America

As Memorial Day fades into the depths of our memory and fireworks stands herald the coming of the 4th of July (and what day is that?), listen and watch this short video on the biggest threat to America, Dennis Prager nails the answer.

If you have been watching Glenn Beck for the last year or so, he is struggling mightily with this task of teaching us about America & American values.

Hat Tip: Sarah H.

Keeping Score in the Gulf Oil Spill

With THE speech from the Oval Office and the kangaroo trials in Congress this week, there is no doubt who the politicans are painting as the face of evil in the Gulf oil disastor. And a disastor it is, and obviously it is BP's well that caused all the problems and by gosh it is on their backs to get it plugged, get everything cleaned up, and compensate those who have lost jobs and money and maybe businesses as a result of BP's mess. No one argues that BP is front and center to be blamed for this; even BP agrees!!

But that is not enough for the political class in Washington. Being as worthless as they are, they have to make a lot of noise to try and hide their worthless selves.

So, let's looks at how they stack on job one to get the leak plugged and everything made right.

Department of Justice: right out of the box Eric Holder threatens criminal charges. So, no surprise, it is hard to get substantive information out of BP. They are lawyered up and won't say boo without legal council. Way to go DOJ!

Obama: "Plug the damn hole" is the extent of his technical contribution. But he was Johnny on the spot using his Chicago thuggery to extort $20B our of BP. All other oil companies take notice: is this a crisis that is going to lead to nationalization of oil companies? Never let a crisis go to waste they say........

Obama & Congress: why haven't they suspended the Jones Act? This would allow non-American flagged ships with non-American (union) crews to help out with the situation. Fifteen foreign countries have tried to help according to this report. So what is wrong with you clowns? If you really wanted to do something constructive, you could! Obviously you don't.

Even the Coast Guard, the face of Homeland Security in the Gulf has been hapless. Yesterday holding barges in part to check on PFD's and Fire Extinguisher certs,

So who is actually moving heaven and earth to make something happen? Well, BP,

The rest of you clowns are sucking wind!

A Real Backbone in Arizona......

Here is a short version of this story.

Obama to Arizona: we are going to sue your butts for that illegal immigration law you are trying to enact.

Gov. Brewer: go ahead punk, make my day!!

Obama says Republicans hurt the jobless: really?

True to ideological form, Obama declares the Republicans are hurting jobless folks because they are blocking yet ANOTHER extension of jobless benefits as reported here.

Let's examine this from two directions: Obama's and the Jobless.

Obama believes all good things come from the Government, so of course he views the blocking of another extension as a frustration of the good liberals and progressives assign to government.

The vast majority of the jobless see it totally differently: jobs provide paychecks, they provide benefits, but most of all jobs can help in providing purpose and self-esteem to those who see work as the honorable means to an end.

The Republicans have proposed numerous initiatives that would get the economy up and moving at a pace fast enough to create real private sector jobs to lower unemployment. This is what the vast majority of jobless folks want.

Mr. President, the people vote soon, to let you know what they think of your policies and lack of leadership for this great Nation of ours.